The Kelbrid War: How to shatter trust
by Blue Dragon
Summary: Oh, this new chapter was angsty. Very very angsty. Perhaps too much. A lot of heartbreak events just seemed to add up and collide right in chapter 44... and I'm just the writer, what can I do? 20071214: corrections made
1. What really happened to Ax

**1 What really happened to Ax**

- - -

"Answer this, Ellimist," Rachel said. "Did I… did I make a difference? My life, and my… my death… was I worth it? Did my life really matter?"

"Yes," the Ellimist replied, without hesitation, his voice kindly, assuring. "You were brave. You were strong. You were good. You mattered."

"Yeah. Okay, then. Okay then."

The Ellimist watched as her line, her strand of space-time, went dark and began curling away.

"Stop."

And, as ordered, things stopped.

"What do you want, One?" the Ellimist asked, annoyed, feeling the presence of the foul creature.

"The girl," the One said. "I know that you, Ellimist are bound to the rules of the game between you and Crayak. You cannot save her. I can."

"Who is this?" Rachel asked. She was drowsy, sleepy, partly faded but still not completely gone. A part of her was very much alive, very much aware. That part was also slightly irritated; if she was going to die, she wanted to get it over with. No interruptions.

"He calls himself the One," the Ellimist said. "He rarely interferes… with this part of the universe. He mostly keeps to his own part. As I strongly advice him to keep doing."

The One smiled. "Is that a threat, Ellimist?"

"If it needs to be."

"What does he want?" Rachel demanded.

"To help, of course," the One sneered, ignoring her and still turned to the Ellimist. "Would you care to let this girl live, Ellimist? I can do that. I can save her. Hide her, in another part of the universe. In a place where Crayak might know she is there, but can't reach her, if he would want to, if this angers him."

"You can't," the Ellimist said. "I will not allow it, One. I see who you are. What you are. What you do. I will not…"

"Ask the girl," the One spat.

The Ellimist was silent.

"Ask her!" the One demanded. "Ask if she wants to return home, with time. Avenge her own death, perhaps, if she wishes to. Ask her, Ellimist, if she wants to _live_."

Stubborn silence.

"Will you not grant her last wish if that is it?" the One said. "Will you refuse her life when life is within her grasp? That is not like you, Ellimist. Actually, it reminds me of… Crayak."

The Ellimist shuddered, space and time shuddering with him.

"Only ask her. If she wants life, I will grant her that. As a favour."

"What do you ask for in return?"

"Favours require favours returned," the One said. "Remember that, Ellimist. I grant her life…"

"But what kind of life, One? What tricks do you plan for her?"

"From the girl, nothing. I will leave her be. I will not interfere with her again. Even if she crosses my path, I will let her walk unharmed. This is a favour for you, not her. I expect one from you later on."

The Ellimist sighed. "Rachel?" he said, again his voice in a tone commonly used for speaking to a child. "Do you wish to live?"

Rachel hesitated. Fully aware, fully alive, she would have hesitated longer. Asked more questions. Questioned what she was hearing. Questioned who she was hearing it from.

But she was not fully alive. She was dying; falling over the edge of the cliff of death, hands waving, balance failing, her entire body out over the edge and only one foot still on the ground, also about to loose its grip. Her mind was set on resignation; the peaceful, calm resignation of a mind who does not fear death, nor welcomes it, but simply has seen too much of it to care.

"Rachel," the One said, for the first time saying her name. "Tobias misses you. He shouldn't have to miss you, Rachel. He will not have to."

Rachel again saw what she had seen on the screen in the Blade ship. Tobias had morphed human, for her. Morphed human and cried, for her. She was already dead and he was mourning. He was…

"He shouldn't have to cry for you," the One said, a hypnotic whisper in her ear. "Do you wish to live, Rachel the Animorph?"

All hesitations were gone.

"Yes."

- - -

THREE YEARS LATER

The reason for Captain-Prince Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthil to even be on the unknown vessel was that he had been bored.

But suddenly boredom seemed very far away. He focused all four eyes on the hairs held in his open palm as he spoke. «It is a few hairs. White,» frowning, he looked closer, already knowing in his mind and soul what his eyes hadn't yet discovered. «No, not truly white. Colourless almost.» Peering even closer, he added; «Hollow.»

The word, when spoken, caused him to burst into action. He dropped the hairs and readied his shredder, stalks circling, one hoof off the floor, ready to run or charge as he surely would need to.

«Draw weapons!» he roared at his warriors. Without waiting for them to react he snatched the communicator from the warrior who held it and said into it; «FO Menderash, raise the _Intrepid_'s defences and go to condition one. I repeat; raise the defences and…» A far-off explosion was heard and communications were cut.

«Captain, what has happened?» a warrior asked. Taril.

«The hairs,» Ax explained, silently swearing in all the languages he could remember, frantically pushing buttons on the communicator, that only stubbornly flashed a hologram saying 'receiver not answering'. «The hairs came from a very powerful Earth animal, a polar bear. A Yeerk on the blade ship has such a morph.» He shook the communicator angrily, wondering if it would help to slam it into a wall – knowing it would certainly improve his bad mood. «Why isn't this thing working?!»

«Yeerks!»

The warrior who had cried out warning, Langur, had been standing by the turn of the tunnel, and now he disappeared in behind it, tail cocked and ready.

«Rafatal, Arifur, and Jakari, with me,» Ax snapped. «We're going to help Langur hold them back. The rest get back to the boarding craft. Contact the _Intrepid_, tell them to retreat. And if we haven't caught up in five minutes follow them to safety!»

«But, Captain…»

Ax swivelled a stalk towards the protesting warrior. «Yes, that would be me. And those would be your Captain's orders. Now obey them!»

They hurried to do as they were told. Rafatal, Arifur, and Jakari hurried to the end of the tunnel, to join Langur, while the others sped away in the other direction.

All except two. Aximili, who watched the group go, and Arayah, who turned after only a few steps. «Prince Aximili…»

Ax shook his head, already knowing what she would say. Arayah-Althasa-Neferia was the only female on the _Intrepid_, one of the few in the entire Fleet, and to prove herself she had had to make sure she played a key role in everything, and to succeed in all of it. But this was not the time. «Go with them.»

«I must insist to stay with your group instead,» she said. «Five are too few to keep the Yeerks back.»

«And six would be much better?» He heard shredders being fired and knew he had to hurry. «Arayah, you will do as you are told!»

She smiled a slow smile. «They've gone, Captain,» she said. «It is better for me to remain here instead of running around an unknown ship alone.»

Ax glanced behind her and saw that she was right. «Then come.»

He turned and galloped to join Langur and the others without waiting for an answer – he had always made a point of not treating her differently from the others. Although he knew none of the others would ever have gotten away with what she'd just done, he shrugged it off his conscience with the thought of 'what else could I have done?'.

A thought-speech cry.

Ax stormed around the corner, tail up in attack without even thinking about it, and shredder ready to be aimed.

What met him was a scene of hell. Rafatal was down, bleeding from a dracon wound on his chest, barely breathing, with Arifur standing in front trying to defend him against two charging Hork-Bajir. The Hork-Bajirs' dracons were both on the floor in several pieces, but Arifur had lost his shredder as well. Langur was cornered by a cougar and two wolves, and the cougar had just grabbed hold around his wrist, keeping him from using the shredder while the wolves attacked. Jakari just limped away from the polar bear that had slashed him from his right shoulder to his left front knee. He, though, should manage to get a good shot. If he hadn't been wobbling like an Andalite the first time in human morph.

«Rafatal, morph!» Ax ordered. «Arayah, help Langur.»

And he leaped forwards against the polar bear, tail flashing. He struck deep into the polar bear's shoulder, but the polar bear just roared, reared up on his hind legs and threw himself forwards.

Ax backed away, firing his dracon, pushing the badly bleeding Jakari with him.

Rafatal had begun morphing. But it was slow. The Hork-Bajir had almost outfought Arifur by then, and Ax glanced around. Langur and Arayah against the cougar and the wolves seemed to be the only part of the fight that was going well, since Arayah had shot one of the wolves on its hind leg, and was aiming for another shot.

Only keep the Yeerks back, Ax reminded himself. _Not get my warriors killed. Then go after the others._

And the five minutes until the boarding craft left were ticking away.

The polar bear charged. Ax reacted slowly, deep in thoughts, and lifted his shredder as well as his tail too slowly. Teeth dug into his arm, closed around his entire side, and even though his tail flashed at the bear's neck it didn't let go. The shredder was gone. He screamed out when the polar bear lifted him clear off the ground and threw him away like a rag doll.

«Prince Aximili!»

Ax landed, rolled, stumbled back to his hooves, head spinning, his side throbbing.

A polar bear roar. The bear, the Yeerk in morph, had forgotten Jakari – now furiously attacking him from the side – and galloped towards Ax. He had heard the hated name being called and realised that this was an old enemy. One of the Animorphs. And in moments his padded feet and knifelike claws would be close enough to finish the familiar but detested Andalite.

A shredder burned away a chunk of muscle on the polar bear's flank. Arayah lowered the shredder again as Ax got out of the polar bear's way and focused his four eyes on his enemy. He flashed his tail again, partly aware that Jakari was doing the same on the other side, but the bear only rose on his hind legs and dove after Ax again.

Rafatal was half-way morphed and began reversing the morph. Arayah and Langur had taken care of the cougar and one of the wolves, and Langur was already on his way to help with the polar bear while Arayah kept the remaining wolf busy.

«Prince Aximili, watch out!» Jakari roared.

Ax leaped away again. «This isn't working,» he said. «Watch my back, I'm going to morph.»

Three minutes remained. Best to hurry. But Ax didn't want the polar bear still alive when they left. Two reasons; this bear was a dangerous enemy to turn your back to. And more importantly, he was the one that had killed Rachel.

Jakari slashed deep into the polar bear's back. The bear cried out and began turning, as Ax's blue fur was changing to white – hollow.

Rafatal was back on his feet. He began helping Arifur with the Hork-Bajir.

Ax, now almost completely polar bear, rose on his hind legs and rushed forwards. The Controller backed quickly away, straight into Jakari, who fell and rolled.

Ax ran into the Controller. But the Controller, more used to the bear morph, slammed down on Ax and grabbed hold, trying to hold Ax in place.

Jakari and Langur's blades slashed at the Controller's thick skin. Their blades didn't cut deep enough to stop him, but enough wounds should at least…

Ax twisted free. Rose halfway on his back legs, slammed his entire body into the other polar bear, and the two rolled, roaring, until they hit the wall. Ax felt teeth dig into his shoulder, and slashed across his enemy's face with all his strength.

«Captain Aximili! Which one are you?»

«I'm the one bleeding on the shoulder.» Ax pulled free again and reared up. The other polar bear was on his back on the floor. Ax slammed down, teeth closing around the bear's throat. He could see flashing tails help him.

The polar bear kicked, struggled, but Ax's jaws crushed his throat easily and the struggling stopped.

Ax backed away and began demorphing, looking around, but not as much as a look at the dead polar bear. There wasn't a single Yeerk left. There wasn't a sound heard from any direction. And they were very, very low on time.

«Retreat!» Ax snapped. «We've got less than a minute before the craft leaves!»

The five Andalites followed him as he turned to run, bursting around the corner again and… stopped.

It was large. So large, it filled the entire corridor. It glowed with a green, sickening colour, and it had a wide, evil grin across its robot-like face. It was hard to tell anything about what it looked like, other than its face. The green light stung their eyes, so bad that Ax turned his stalks away and held up his hands to protect his main eyes.

«What is it?» Arayah said. «What is it?»

«Keep behind us and you won't have to find out,» Jakari directed, stepping in between her and the being, taking her shredder and aiming it.

She snatched the shredder back. «Jakari, just because I've got a smaller blade doesn't mean…»

"Shut up!" the being sneered. "Foolish little Andalites. You nosy four-legs never learn, do you? KEEP OUT OF OTHERS' BUSINESS!"

«Prince Aximili?» Arayah said calmly. «Shall I blast him?»

Ax hesitated, but then nodded.

Arayah pressed the trigger. The green beam flew out, straight at the being's grinning, laughing face.

And straight through it.

Six surprised Andalites stared as the beam continued, unaltered, and burned a hole in the other end of the corridor.

«Who are you?!» Ax demanded. «What are you?»

"I am the One!" roared the creature. "I am Many! I am All!"

«That just didn't make any sense,» Langur commented.

«Neither does a shredder going straight through something,» Ax said.

"Sub-Visser!" the creature called. "Where you failed, I have succeeded. Come and take your prisoners!"

«Yeerks coming up behind us,» Rafatal informed them. «We're trapped.»

«How many?» Ax asked.

«Two dozen Hork-Bajir. And half a dozen Earth morphs.»

«More coming up behind the One,» Jakari added. «Captain Aximili, what do we do?»

The moment after that, the One turned slightly sideways to let the coming Yeerks pass by. The strange thing was, the One didn't really have a side. There was a collective gasp from the six Andalites, even Ax.

«He's two-dimensional!» Langur said, eyes wide with both surprise and fascination.

Having let four armed Hork-Bajir warriors pass by, the One turned back towards the trapped Andalites. "Yes, I am two-dimensional! And therefore you cannot harm me, you little space-filth! So cower before me!"

Arayah came up closer behind Ax, not taking his hand or even asking for support, but obviously being troubled. Her voice was free of any quaver, but not as confident as usual. «Prince Aximili. If we do nothing, we will be trapped. What are your orders?»

«The shredder went through,» Ax said, thinking aloud in thought-speech to his group. «I have an idea. Do not follow until I tell you it is safe.» He turned a stalk towards Arayah. «Did you hear that?»

She nodded.

Ax nodded, as well. He took a deep breath, and without warning threw himself forwards at full speed, crashing through the Hork-Bajir that blocked his path and leaped straight into the One.

A flash of green lightening cracked from his right front hoof to the two-dimensional creature. Another, from his tail-blade. He flew through the air. Halfway through the two-dimensional creature, and then he was stopped. One half of him on one side. The other half on the other.

«Prince Aximili!» Arayah cried.

Lighting flashed around him, between the laughing the One and his own body. The green light intensified. Ax's body began shifting and shimmering.

The pain was unbelievable. It spread from where the creature touched him, to the tips of his stalks, the blade on his tail. At the same time, he started being pulled into the One, flattened out to fit the creature's own shape. The green light already enclosed him. His organs were being pressed together, his heart almost stopping and lungs suddenly burning and unable to breath.

«JAKE!» Ax cried, not thinking about where he was or who was with him, not being able to consider it any further. He threw his head back in pain, main eyes rolling into the back of his head, hooves kicking wildly, arms jerking, stalks twisting. He let out a scream like nothing he had ever heard before, and…

Silenced. Why cry for help?

Foolish. Weak.

No-one could help him. No-one.

And, besides, he was not afraid. He could manage on his own.

He sensed the evil around him, the evil that held him, knew it crept closer and closer in on his own mind, uniting the two to one. But not really one; the evil was in control. The evil would take over. The evil would be the ruler, and he would merely be the mindless slave.

He was not strong enough to fight it. But why should he? He sensed strength. With that strength as a part of him, with him as a part of that strength, he could fight anything. Beat anything.

He would let the evil take over. He would let the strength seep into him. He would be part of this creature, this being, this… existence, as long as it suited his purposes.

And when he was strong enough, when the time came, he would break free, crush this evil under him, crush anything and anyone who tried to stop him, and finally annihilate anyone who happened to be nearby, just to try his new strength. Just to see how powerful he had become.

Yes.

When it suited him.

«Prince Aximili?» a shaky voice asked from somewhere far away.

Ax's new laugh thundered.

Time stopped. The Ellimist appeared.

"You cannot do that!" he roared.

The One put on a sneer and the green glow intensified again. "Who says what I can and cannot do? This is my part of the universe."

"That Andalite belonged to me," the Ellimist said. "He stood under my protection. He was a pawn in my game!"

"Return to your game, Ellimist. You were done with him. You have no need for him, so I took him."

"I demand you let him go!"

"Why? You have no use for him. Is this sentimentality speaking?"

The Ellimist growled and prepared to force his words through, gathering his strength.

"Favours require favours returned, Ellimist," the One snapped. "Remember the girl, Ellimist? I kept my promise. The girl lives. Free from memories of our deal. Free from my interference, although she causes me some trouble. I did you a favour. Now it is your turn."

"Let him go."

"Where is your sense of decency, Ellimist? An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth… or an Animorph for an Animorph. It doesn't get much fairer." He smiled. "You have no use for him."

"Someday, One, when Crayak and I are done…"

"You will go after me? Possible. We are not exactly friendship material. But not for this. I know you. Favours require favours returned."

The Ellimist nodded, curtly, bitterly, still steaming with anger.

"An Animorph saved for an Animorph condemned." The Ellimist's anger grew, and the One pulled back and added quickly; "Remember that you agreed, Ellimist. Remember that you agreed to this. You agreed to all of it!"

"Favours require favours returned," the Ellimist snapped. "I know. I might not like it, but I know. But, One, I warn you; I shall not forget this."

With that, he was gone.

- - -

Author's Note;

That's the start of the Kelbrid Chronicles, that I'll hopefully keep writing. I've got a lot of ideas. It's going to be about the Andalite-Kelbrid war, but mostly about a small group of Andalites and humans in "the centre of events". Tell me if you want me to put up any more. Any comments at all, please, they're all needed, because this'll probably be another long one...

Update, december 2007: I'm actually editing all this at the moment. Changing a few things, fixing some formatting, and dodging hatred of proper thought-speech marks. This includes removing the author's notes at the end of the chapters. They're all silly little review-beggers of standard type. If you wish, you may pretend they're still there.


	2. What the Andalites didn't know about the...

**2 What the Andalites didn't know about the Kelbrid**

- - -

RING.

Ronnie sat up with a jerk from the sudden sound. His head hit the roof of the small tent, but since it was made of cloth he didn't hurt himself.

RING.

He blinked, and turned to Cassie. She was sleeping, still, cuddled up in her sleeping bag, but her forehead was wrinkled. She had been up and working all day, and half the night. Been out hunting poachers. Exhausted, poor thing.

RING.

Poachers after the Hork-Bajir. Ronnie shuddered at the thought and grabbed after the mobile phone. He fumbled through the darkness in the tent until he found it. Must have kicked it away from its place while he slept. Who called at this hour? Must be important. Better be important.

RI –

"Ronnie. Hello?"

"This is the President," a familiar voice said. Familiar from TV and radio, not from the other end of your own phone. Ronnie was suddenly very aware of what he should say. His tongue suddenly felt clumsy. "I wish to speak to Cassie. The Animorph. Is she there?"

"Y-yes," Ronnie managed. He almost dropped the phone as he turned and shook Cassie to wake her.

"What?" she muttered as her eyes opened.

"It's the President," Ronnie whispered. "She wants to talk to you."

A sleep-drenched Cassie sighed, sat up, took the phone and vigorously rubbed her eyes with her free hand. "Cassie speaking," she said, not bothering about any more elaborate greetings. If the President wanted elaborateness, she had called the wrong person. And definitely at the wrong hour.

"Good," said the President. "Make sure no-one else hears this conversation."

"What's this about?" Cassie asked, grabbing a jacket and leaving the tent to sit outside in the cool air. Hork-Bajir were all around, some sitting guard but most sleeping. They waved at her when she came back, and she waved back with a short smile. 'No-one' probably didn't include them.

The President continued; "I am trying to find a friend of yours. Jake Berenson. He seems to be missing. Do you know where he is?"

"I don't," Cassie said truthfully.

"How about Marco?"

"If he's gone too, he's probably with Jake."

"Perfect," sighed the President heavily. "Then you are the only one left. Cassie, here's the deal. Earth was contacted by a new alien species, previously unknown to us. You Animorphs have more experience with aliens, so…"

"You want our advice? Our help."

"Something like that. Except, with Jake and Marco gone, it's only your help."

"I've got my hands full," Cassie objected. "Some moron is after the Hork-Bajir. We found one dead, skin and blades removed. Shot in the head. Toby is furious. The valley is in chaos."

"Poachers?" the President said, disgusted. "That's horrible! Can't be allowed. I'll get someone to handle that for you."

"These are my friends," Cassie explained. "I'm not leaving them in a tight spot. We've already got a gathering of guards and park rangers and security people. And I'm staying here myself until it's cleared up. Call the Andalites. They'll help you."

"We do not want to be any more trouble to the Andalites than necessary," the President said. "The Earth Council has… advised against it, to put it that way. They have a lot of influence now, as you know. If you cannot help, you must tell us how to reach your friends. Something tells me you know."

"I only know I won't be seeing them again," Cassie said sadly. "At least not Jake."

"How do you know that? You know where he is? What he's doing? It is a matter of the planet's safety, Cassie."

"I just know. I don't know where they are. And no, I couldn't tell you even if I knew. This is about the safety of the universe, so…"

"Exactly," said the President. "You see, our representative in the Earth Council asked us to find you Animorphs. He informed us that our planet was contacted by an unknown species who call themselves the Kelbrid…"

Cassie suddenly felt cold. "Kelbrid?" she echoed, throat dry. When the President confirmed it, she continued; "Do you know what they said?"

"I heard the conversation on tape, so I've got a pretty good idea. Basically, they warned us about them. They said that they had reasons to declare war on the Andalites, and for some reason they felt the need to tell us to keep out of it."

"Were they hostile?"

"You could call it that." The President hesitated. "Have you heard of these Kelbrid, Cassie? About their connection to the Andalites? And to us?"

"Yes," Cassie confirmed, pulling the jacket closer around her.

"Tell me."

Cassie sighed. There was no reason to keep quiet about it. "Contact the Andalites as soon as possible. There is a treaty between the Kelbrid and the Andalites. A we-don't-bother-you-and-you-don't-bother-us treaty. Perhaps that treaty is gone now. And I think the Yeerks might have a finger in it, too. Why would the Kelbrid otherwise worry about us? How would they even know about us?" Another sigh. "If only…"

"What?"

"Nothing. No use wishing for the impossible. Jake and Marco would be of much more use than I, here. Rachel would have been even better, she knows how the Yeerks think. On second thought, maybe you should contact Marco's mother, Eva. And, I'm going to say it again; call the Andalites. Explain about the Kelbrid. Don't ask them for anything, we don't want to seem helpless or inferior. Just offer our support."

"Why should we do that? These… Kelbrid. We have no scores to settle with them."

"Not yet," Cassie corrected. "But we do with the Yeerks. Think; if the Kelbrid and the Yeerks had some sort of connection, the Kelbrid would go after the Andalites. As they are doing, so it's basically confirmed. And we happen to be another top target on the Yeerk list. We don't want the Andalites destroyed, whether the Yeerks are in this or not, because that leaves our front gate unguarded."

"Good point."

"And you wondered where Jake and Marco were."

"You do know, after all," the President muttered.

"I have a pretty decent guess," Cassie admitted. "They're in Kelbrid space. Kelbrid territory. A friend of ours is there. As a prisoner."

"A Kelbrid prisoner?"

"No. Yeerk prisoner."

A short silence. Then; "Do you suspect a Kelbrid-Yeerk pact?"

"Yes. At least… an agreement. Another reason to call the Andalites – to warn them about that, too. And hurry."

"We will," the President promised. "I'll just call our representative in the Earth Council, and he'll see what they have to say and make sure things get done. Anything else?"

"Yeah. Hurry building that Z-space ship. I think we'll need it. Good luck."

"Thank you. Goodbye."

The President hung up, and Cassie pressed the off button on the mobile phone. She crept back into the tent.

"What was that about?" Ronnie asked, yawning, eyes half-closed, taking the phone and returning it to its place with one hand and arm, refusing to move anything else unless he had to.

"Just about saving the universe," Cassie replied. She grabbed her bag and began digging in it for something she could morph in. "Ronnie, I won't be able to sleep any more tonight, so I'm going to go flying. See if I can spot the poachers' camp. I'll be back by morning. But don't worry if I'm late. Keep an eye on the Hork-Bajir."

"Okay. Good luck." Ronnie nodded and closed his eyes to catch some extra sleep.

- - -

«Head of Council Lirem?» said a careful thought-speech voice.

Lirem-Arrepoth-Terrouss opened his main eyes and his pose straightened from the slackened pose of sleeping. He raised his tail and – raising them too – swivelled his stalks back to see who had come.

An Informer. The informers and messengers and spies and servants and a lot of other things of the War Council. They had no identity except "Informer", unless you counted a lot of fake ones, which allowed them to pass by anywhere almost unnoticed. This one was, at the moment, not the bravest of the bunch. His weight was moved uncertainly from hoof to hoof. He was nervous about having to wake the bad-tempered Head of Council.

Lirem decided not to be angry with him. Not much, at least, although he had a reputation to think about as well. But, he added as an afterthought; this better be important.

«Yes?»

The Informer shifted his weight again, tail flicking a bit to the side for balance. «We… we have… a declaration of war.»

Lirem was suddenly wide awake. During the three and a half years that had passed since the war with the Yeerks was won, the War Council had slowly and surely and quite openly been pushed out of its dominating role and back to playing an unimportant part in dull Andalite peace-time politics.

War. _About time_, Lirem thought.

He was a warrior to the bone, from stalks to hooves. War ran in his blood; he lived for it, grazed it like grass and breathed it like air. He had grown up with war, it was all he could and would do. He was by no means or measures a politician. If someone ever told him so he would honestly consider relieving them from the burden of their obviously useless heads.

«War, huh?» he said, turning and only at the last moment stopping himself from rubbing his hands. «With whom? Not the Yeerks, I hope.»

«Not the Yeerks,» the Informer confirmed.

«Then who?»

A short hesitation. But asking such a direct question was the same as a demanding a reply. «The Kelbrid.»

«WHAT?!» Lirem thundered, causing the Informer to back away a couple of good steps. Lirem muttered something to himself that no Andalite would ever say in public, and added, with what he hoped was a calmer voice; «Who broke the treaty? Who entered Kelbrid space?»

«You are aware of the _Intrepid_ Situation,» the Informer said carefully.

«Of course,» snapped Lirem. «So it is the Yeerks and Prince Aximili? I seem to remember sending Prince Caysath to… deal with it.»

«You did,» the Informer said. «But perhaps it was too late…»

Lirem muttered something else that probably shouldn't be repeated and his tail twitched.

«Head of Council, I came because the High Quarteer of the Kelbrid wishes to speak with you.»

«Very well,» Lirem grunted, straightening up with a face of arrogance and a sneer of superiority – maybe he had a touch of politician in him, after all – and turned to where the hologram would appear. «On screen.»

The hologram flashed and what probably was a Kelbrid face appeared. Lirem's main eyes narrowed. So that's what they looked like.

It was vaguely similar to an Andalite face. But instead of stalks, two long, agile, movable horns swept back from his skull. The air cracked as they whipped around; maybe a sign of anger. The ears could have been human, if they hadn't been pointy… pointing down, not upwards as on Andalites. And they, too, were movable, on very short stalks, that made the being look a bit silly. The eyes were thin lines, broken at the middle by a shining green pupil. There was no nose; instead the creature had a slit over each cheek that opened and closed as he breathed. The mouth was a mix between a Hork-Bajir's sharp beak and a human's softer lips. Lirem didn't pay that much attention to it; for obvious reasons he was generally uninterested in mouths.

"I am the High Quarteer," said the creature in a voice that fell between deep, harmonious, almost hypnotizing tones to the highest, sharpest notes that without much trouble could wake the dead. "I lead the mighty Kelbrid Empire under the guidance of the Whole. Fear me!"

«Do not be a fool,» Lirem replied. He didn't like this High Quarteer; if they had just declared war, then just as well. Fear him? When _kafits_ did Z-space travel. «I am Lirem-Arrepoth-Terrouss, Head of the Andalite War Council. And we, High Quarteer of the Kelbrid, need to get one simple thing clear; I am not going to crawl and grovel before you. Unless I am mistaken, you will not crawl and grovel before me. _Regrettable_, but true. So let us ignore that part and move on, as any sensible species should. I will ask you directly; what is this about?»

"This is about the wishes of the Glorious Whole!" His green pupils shone maniacally and his voice went shrill again, almost making Lirem's ears hurt.

«Not about our treaty?»

"Your word is not even worthy of the dirt under my claws," the Quarteer snapped. "Your so-called 'treaty' even less. We know there was an Andalite ship with an entire Andalite crew in our territory. We know of your treacherous ways, Andalite! Fortunately, our kindly brothers the Yeerks hunted the ship down for us before it could harm us."

«Yeerk brothers?» Lirem said, barely concealing his surprise or the cold, calculating hate that swept over him.

"Our trusted allies, tired of being persecuted by you and your deceitful kind, took refuge in our territory, under our protection. We live as brothers, unified under the leadership of the Great Whole, the Glorious One!"

«The Yeerks are no-one's brothers,» Lirem warned.

"Hush, Andalite filth!" the Quarteer ordered, and Lirem's four eyes grew dark with rage. His tail twitched. And he hoped the High Quarteer could see that. He hoped that the High Quarteer could see it well. "They warned me about your disrespectful ways. You who call yourselves Andalites have violated our treaty, shown yourselves unworthy of our trust and friendship, and our obligation to our Yeerk friends is clear. Prepare to be annihilated!"

The connection was broken, leaving a very angry Head of Council to roar at nothing except the Informer, who kept at a respectful distance.

Lirem calmed himself with some difficulty. «Annihilated! Not as long as the last Andalite still can swing a tail.» He glared at the Informer. «You! Gather the Council. Inform the Electorate. We have a war to deal with! Annihilated, by my stalks. _How dare they_!!»

«Head of Council, may I suggest we begin with a rearmament of the Fleet?»

«Of course,» Lirem said. «Take care of it, immediately!»

The Informer fled as quickly as his legs could carry him. Another came in after him. «Head of Council,» he said. He looked about to follow his friend away, being nervous after seeing how he had fled. «The humans wish to speak with you.»

«Don't bother me with details. Take care of it or tell them it can wait,» Lirem snapped.

«I do not believe so, Head of Council,» the Informer pressed. «The Earth Council claims it is very important. They insist to speak with you directly.»

«It! Can! Wait!» Lirem said, one word at a time, in a voice that sounded like it came through gritted teeth.

«Head of Council, it is about the Kelbrid.»

Lirem's stalks glared at him. «Who told them about the Kelbrid?»

«No-one,» the Informer said. «Obviously it is as they claim; the Kelbrid contacted them.»

Lirem turned back towards where the screen would appear. «Well, why didn't you say so?» he snapped, making another not-that-successful attempt to calm down. «On screen. Now.»


	3. How the Rachel rammed the Blade Ship

**3 How the Rachel rammed the Blade Ship**

- - -

"Full emergency power to the engines," Jake ordered, watching the glowing One with Rachel's smile pasted on his face. "Ram the Blade ship!"

Menderash nodded, and gave the computer a short series of commands. The engines lit up. The One began laughing.

"Jake," Marco said, grabbing his arm. "If we survive this, I want you to forget anything I ever said where I used the words 'crazy, reckless and ruthless' in one sentence."

He had more to say, but at that moment the _Rachel_ shot forwards and the six members of her crew were thrown backwards, Tobias flapping in vain to try to stay airborne. He crashed into the rest of them, and Marco caught him under his arm to keep him from being crushed.

"FOOLS!" the One's cry echoed in their heads as the _Rachel_ crashed into the much bigger Blade ship.

A loud bang and a rumble was heard. The craft shook, if anyone had looked up they would have seen a cascade of fire enclose the front of the ship. At the same time, the noise of protesting metal seared their ears when their craft's wings ripped open two twin wounds along the Blade ship's spine, digging its way in deeper and deeper, soon the nose following the wings down and into the bigger ship. That caused the fire; and let out the air that fed it.

Then the crew rolled and tumbled and flew forwards as the battered craft got stuck, back part still sticking out of the Blade ship's spine like the hilt of a dagger. Even inside the draft they heard the cries of despair as Yeerks and their hosts were sucked out into space. But also; very familiar thought-speech cries. From deeper in the ship.

"What now?" Santorelli demanded, being the first back on his feet.

"Andalites!" Menderash hissed. "There are Andalites on that ship!"

«Which we can do nothing about,» Tobias said. Marco had put him down again. «At least not now. Look.»

After a second glance around their craft, they all knew what he meant. Even from the inside, the destruction was clear. The wings of the _Rachel_ were ripped off. The front was crushed and flattened and seared like a tin can under someone's foot. The entire craft was torn in any and all places possible; it was a miracle it had not cracked open. The computers flashed "engines down", only to vary it with "weapons non-functional" and "system damage; level nine".

Simply put, the _Rachel_ would never fly again.

"That's the second 'Rachel' you sent to her death, Jake," Marco said with fake cheerfulness. "Turning into quite a habit, huh?"

No-one except Marco thought it funny. Tobias glared at him, and Jeanne sent the hawk a sympathetic glance, while the rest – including Menderash, who didn't understand – pretended they hadn't even heard it.

"Any ideas, anyone?" Jake sighed.

"The shuttle craft," Jeanne suggested.

Menderash gave her a quick, appreciating look and rushed to the back of the ship. After a few moments… "They are unharmed!"

Jake breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. Let's gather some supplies. Santorelli, Marco? Get food. Menderash and Jeanne, clothes and other supplies. Only what's necessary. Did you hear that, Jeanne?"

The four disappeared back into the living quarters of the _Rachel_, fetching what they thought they would need. It all was dumped outside the two shuttle crafts, ready to be loaded. It took a few minutes, until Jake thought it had taken too long.

Before Jeanne got another chance to turn to get something else she "just had to have", he said; "Is that all? Yes, it is. Let's go aboard."

"How many fit into one craft?" Marco asked dully.

"With the pack in, perhaps three," Menderash estimated. "With two crafts, we…"

But Tobias saw what Marco had seen and the others missed. «We only have one good enough pilot.»

"If we morph small…" Santorelli suggested.

"If we morph small and the craft is captured we'll be too easily overpowered," Jake pointed out. "And we'll all be down. In two crafts, they won't get all of us. Not as easily. We've got no choice, here. Who thinks they'll be able to fly one?"

A long, heavy silence, each member of the broken ship's crew glancing uncertainly at the next.

"I can try," Jeanne said finally, when no-one else spoke.

Jake nodded. "Good enough. Menderash? You, Marco and Santorelli go in the first craft. Marco's in charge. Jeanne, Tobias and I take the other. We keep contact. Clear?"

Nods all around. But Menderash hesitated.

"Don't tell me these need names as well," Marco sighed.

"It wouldn't hurt," Menderash said carefully.

"Okay. So They're officially called _Misfortune_ and _Complexity_," Marco said, pointing at the crafts as he gave them names.

«Ominous,» Tobias said quietly.

"But fitting," Santorelli added.

"_Misfortune_ and _Complexity_. Good," Jake agreed, nodding, not really caring about the names or what they meant. "Then go."

Marco raised an eyebrow at Jake and sent a significant look at Jeanne when she grabbed her part of the supplies and disappeared into the first shuttle craft, the Misfortune.

"No," Jake said.

"But…"

"No. I need you with Menderash and Santorelli, since I myself want to keep an eye on Tobias. And putting the two rookies in one craft might be a bad plan." Tobias sent Jake a fierce glare when he passed, but chose not to comment it. Jake sighed. "Be glad I put you in charge," he said to Marco.

Marco spread his arms wide and rolled his eyes. Then grinned. "Good luck."

"You too."

They each climbed into their crafts, dragging some supplies along with them.

Jake sighed when he had packed the last pack into the _Misfortune_, and closed the door behind him. He looked around. The _Misfortune_ was a small craft from the outside, but somehow seemed even smaller from the inside. There was a piloting seat, and two seats along one wall. The other wall was the door and a set of consoles and buttons that he didn't have time to try and make any sense of. Most of the space was taken up by the supplies, which made the craft very crowded.

Jeanne had taken the pilot's seat already, but wasn't wearing a seat belt. Tobias sat perched on the headrest behind her, the two mumbling between them about something.

"Seatbelt," Jake said.

"You sound like my mom when you say that," Jeanne replied. "I never listened to her, so I'm not going to listen to you. Are we ready to go?"

Jake glanced over the controls. "Are you sure you can fly this thing?"

"As well as you can, at least," she replied. "Grab hold of something. We're getting out of here."

Jake quickly took a seat, and Tobias fluttered down from his perch to stand on the floor, refusing to even look at the empty seat next to Jake's. But the small craft at least had a proper acceleration compensator. Even Tobias could stay standing – even though he did slide back against the packs by the wall.

The _Misfortune_ swept away from the Rachel and the Blade ship, and shot out into free, open space. Jake glanced out the windows, but didn't see the other shuttle craft. That bothered him.

"Hail the _Complexity_," Jake said. "See where they are."

«No need,» Tobias said. «They've hailed us.»

"On screen," Jake instructed.

The screen in front of Jeanne came to life and Marco's shrill laugh spread into the _Misfortune_ from her sister craft.

"What?" Jake asked.

"Oh, just me seeing the irony in it all," Marco said, his face on the screen suddenly serious. He was standing behind Menderash –who was in the pilot's seat, a mask of concentration on his face, eyes focused on something slightly below what the screen picked up. Santorelli wasn't seen, except for the top of his head. He was at the back of the ship. "The ironic thing is that these names… well, we should have switched them around. Because the _Complexity_ is the misfortunate one. We've got a bug fighter on our tail."

"Location?"

"Hiding under the Blade ship, trying to outsmart the thing, where else?" Marco said. "We're that orange beep on the screen on the wall. Oh, and by the way. Don't try to fly past the back of the old battleaxe-ship. That's where the bugs creep."

"Okay," Jake said, glancing at the screen Marco had mentioned as Jeanne steered towards the Blade ship's front. "Menderash? Does this thing have firepower?"

Menderash didn't answer, still intently focused, but Marco said; "Nothing worth mentioning. Maybe we could blast a cow. From a five-meter range."

"How about speed?"

"They've got better acceleration. And they're faster. They're built for hunting things, Fearless Leader. We're kinda built for being hunted. Conclusion? We're talking the hawk-and-mouse law of nature."

«Good one,» Tobias said, as he fluttered back up to his former perch. Marco flashed a sad grin. «Jake? What do we do?»

The question caught Jake by surprise. Tobias was the last person he would have expected that from. He glanced at the hawk, whose fierce gaze swept over the controls and back to the screen without even turning to look at him. "Ehm…"

"Captain?" Menderash said quietly. "I have only one thing to say; I will not let myself be taken alive by the Yeerks. Not at any price."

"I understand, Menderash," Jake said, using a surprisingly fierce tone that probably would make an Andalite War-Prince snap to attention. "But listen to me; I'm the only one here allowed to make crazy, reckless, ruthless, suicidal decisions. Me, and possibly Marco. You pilot that craft where I tell you to. When I tell you to. You will do so, until I tell you otherwise. Now tell me this; how many bugs are on your tail?"

"I have spotted one," Menderash reported. "There are more further back, but only one has noticed us. So far."

"Good. This is what we do. Jeanne? Stop the craft. Go…" he pointed to a location closer to the Blade ship "There. Now. You, Menderash, will come out from your hiding place when I've counted to three. You will fly straight out, the bug will be after you, and we'll be after the bug."

"Why does this sound like it won't work?" Marco complained.

«Because it will,» Tobias said. «It's the best we've got, anyway. But Jake? Exactly how are you planning to go after the bug?»

"I'll man the weapons station. And if you get us close enough quick enough, Jeanne, I'll get a good shot at the right engine as the bug fighter passes. Let's see how fast he is with only one engine."

"I don't know about him, but we'll be dead," Marco said.

"We'll be dead fighting, not hiding," Santorelli corrected.

"Why doesn't that make me feel any better?"

Jake shook his head. "No time to think. Menderash? One … two… three … go!"

From under the Blade ship the small shape of the _Complexity_ zoomed out, full speed, passing only meters from where her sister craft was waiting.

"Wait for it…" Jake told Jeanne, as her hand took a better grip on the control stick, and she bit her lower lip. "Wait…" The black shadow of a bug fighter blew past. "Now! Go go go!"

Jeanne powered up the engines. The _Misfortune_ shot forwards, towards the bug – more properly towards the place the bug would soon be.

TSEEW!

The bug fired!

The _Complexity_ veered out of the way.

"We're okay!" Santorelli informed them. "We're…"

TSEEW!

The _Complexity_ jumped to the left. The dracon beam followed.

"Not okay," Menderash corrected. "A glance hit. Engine damage, level one. Energy decrease, stabilizer out of order…"

Jake looked up at the screen. He locked on target; the bug's engine. Closer… had to fire at the right moment…

TSEEW!

Compared to the bug's dracon, the _Misfortune_ couldn't have destroyed an ant. But it was enough. The engine exploded, the bug fighter thrown off course, out of line, and tumbled away through space. Not destroyed, but for sure out of the fight. A boat with only one oar.

"Good shot," Jeanne said, slowing the _Misfortune_ down to rest in front of the _Complexity_. The crew of one craft could look straight at the other, through the windows. Also, the three aboard the _Misfortune_ could easily see the single scarred engine of the _Complexity_.

"Can it still fly?" Jake asked over the communications.

"Barely," Menderash said. "Not fast. Not fast enough to get away. Or into Z-space. And I am afraid it will break down if I try to push it. But we have a problem, Captain. The other bug fighters have spotted us."

Jake muttered a few well-chosen swear words.

«And we're easy prey,» Tobias said. «I knew this was a bad idea. At least there I wouldn't be blown to pieces.»

"We're not blown to pieces yet," Jeanne said. "And, before that happens, how about getting out of here?"

"The _Complexity_ isn't going anywhere," Santorelli said.

Jake tried some hard thinking. "Does this thing have a tractor beam?"

"Not strong enough," Menderash said. "Captain, I suggest you try to flee. We can distract them."

"I'm not leaving half my group in trouble," Jake snapped, glaring angrily at the former Andalite through the front glass of the two shuttle crafts. "I don't know about you Andalites, but we humans stick together when we're in a mess."

"But Menderash is right on this one," Marco said. "If you get far enough away and escape into Z-space…"

"Not an option, Marco," Jake said. "And that's definite. The bugs are here. Any ideas, anyone?"

A few moments of thought.

"They'll do one of two things," Marco reasoned. «Blast us into a million pieces, as said, or try to capture us." He thought for a second or two extra. "In that case, we've got the advantage."

«Why?» Tobias asked.

"We don't know what that One-guy told the Yeerks, but from his manner I'd say they're on a strict need-to-know-basis. Which means, they only know that Santorelli and Jeanne were on the _Rachel_, and even if they might suspect further crewmembers they can't be sure. If they find one shuttle with Jeanne, and one shuttle with Santorelli, they'll believe no-one else survived."

"So we'll be captured, and you'll do what?" Jeanne asked.

Marco grinned. "We'll be those fleas that no-one knows about on the back of your necks."

"That's a very small advantage, Marco," Santorelli asked. "And how, exactly, does it help us?"

«Menderash can't morph,» Tobias pointed out.

"So he'll be the extra crewmember."

"I will not let myself be captured," Menderash repeated.

"We won't," Marco said. "They'll lock us in place with tractor beams, and board from a bug. Then they'll kill us all, which is unlikely if they've gone through the trouble of boarding us, or shove us aboard the bug. On the bug, is one Taxxon, and one Hork-Bajir. The Taxxon isn't a problem. The Hork-Bajir… there'll be three of us to keep him looking the other way while the fleas morph bad."

«That's the best we've got?» Tobias muttered. «We're dead.»

"Why, aren't we optimistic," Marco snapped.

Jake silenced them both with a set of glares. Tobias ruffled his feathers and fluttered to the back of the craft. "Menderash, does it fit your sense of 'not being captured'?" he asked.

Menderash thought it over and finally nodded, although he didn't look too convinced.

"What do we do if they try to fry us?" Santorelli asked.

«We get fried,» Tobias informed him.

"Time to act," Menderash said. "Scanners showing bug fighters closing in. A dozen." He looked up. "If you want to escape into Z-space, Captain, then now is the time."

Jake sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Jeanne? Turn her around and we'll see if we can get a lucky shot. Menderash, same orders. Aim for the dracon cannons first, then the engines."

The two shuttle craft turned, the _Complexity_ with some difficulty, and Marco and Jake took places by the almost laughable battle stations.

"Open fire?" Marco asked.

"When we're in range," Jake said. "Menderash, Jeanne, keep a tight grip on the controls. If we get shot at we don't want a face-on hit."

"We could perhaps be fast enough to move out of a sloth's way," Santorelli muttered. "A dracon? Not happening."

"They'll be in range in ten seconds," Menderash reported. "Nine. Eight…"

"We're being hailed," Jeanne said.

"Seven… Six…"

"Answer them," Jake ordered. 

"Five… Four…" Menderash's two human eyes focused harder. "Captain, they've stopped."

"What do we tell them?" Jeanne asked.

"Direct the communication to the _Complexity_ and let Santorelli talk," Jake ordered. "The rest stay quiet. Santorelli, act cocky. Like we've got a few extra aces up our sleeves. If you need help, I'll have Tobias tell you what to say in thought-speech. Keep him talking for as long as possible."

"Prepared to open the communications channel," Menderash said.

"Go ahead," Jake said.

Menderash nodded and gave a few commands to the computer.

"Who is this?" Santorelli demanded.

"This is Ensh 5469," a raspy voice replied. "we have you cold, to put it in human terms. Surrender, and we might let you live. Fight, and we will kill you all."

"Surrendering is not an option," Jake hissed at Tobias and Tobias sent it forwards to Santorelli.

Santorelli laughed loudly. "Obviously you haven't met us before, Ensh," he said. "We don't do surrendering. Never have, never will. But, friend, if you tell your bugs to back off we might let _you_ live."

"I shall give you one more chance," Ensh growled. "Surrender and live. Fight us and die. The choice is yours."

"Not much of a choice, though?"

"A lot of a choice, considering that you are trapped in those useless shuttle crafts, of which one is crippled. Your dracons cannot even reach us! What is your decision?"

Santorelli was silent. He prepared an answer, but didn't have time to say it before…

Ensh said; "I take it you wish to fight." And the connection was broken.

"Ehm, Jake?" Marco said. "That's not good, is it?"

«Not good at all,» Tobias agreed.

"Two bugs are approaching," Menderash said. "They are probably preparing to use their weapons." A short pause. Then; "Captain, we have a problem."

"Another one, you mean," Jake sighed. "What?"

"I see it, too," Jeanne said, watching her own console. "We've got something coming up behind us."

"Bugs?"

"No," Menderash said, ordering the computer to perform an identity check on the coming ships. "Unknown. But definitely fighters."

TSEEW!

The _Misfortune_ threw itself out of the dracon's way. Tobias lost his foothold and fell, madly flapping, while Jake slammed into the wall of the craft, back first. Jake pulled himself up and grabbed onto the pilot's chair, glancing out the window over Jeanne's shoulder.

"What happened?" he demanded.

"We're being shot at!" Jeanne replied, veering out of the way from another dracon.

"I figured that out by myself, Jeanne. By who?"

"The bugs!"

TSEEW!

"We're hit again!" Marco reported from the _Complexity_. "I'm glad this thing doesn't pop like a balloon! She's actually quite sturdy for being so small."

Then things happened fast. From behind them, the unknown crafts swept forwards. They were jet black, glistening with metal at the edges, and shaped like arrowheads. They flew swiftly past the two shuttles and towards the bugs, blue beams of light shooting out from cannons above and below the body. The bugs turned to flee from an enemy that suddenly was more numerous, in their haste forgetting the shuttle crafts.

But the new crafts hadn't forgotten them. Before either the crippled _Complexity_ or the _Misfortune_ had any time to react, much less get out of the way, the ships began building up around them, creating a sphere, the different ships sliding into place and building up a bigger ship, the two shuttles floating in the room in the centre.

"We're trapped," Jeanne said. "We're trapped."

"How about morphing bad?" Santorelli suggested.

"Your battle morphs cannot fit into these small craft," Menderash said.

"One in each craft morphs," Jake ordered. "Marco, and Tobias. Morph something not too big but effective."

Tobias began morphing (to Andalite, for some reason) and from Marco's complaining – that suddenly was in thought-speech – he had begun morphing something as well.

Then artificial gravity kicked in and the twin crafts fell five meters to where the new ship had decided would be down. Again, the crews tumbled around, becoming very bruised very fast. Tobias' front hoof accidentally hit Jeanne in the stomach and she folded double from the sudden blow, and Jake slammed his shoulder against the pilot's chair and almost cried out.

"Maybe seatbelt wasn't a bad idea," Jeanne said, as she pulled herself back up to sitting position, leaning against the wall, both arms wrapped around her. She sat between the pilot's seat and the console, almost hidden from view.

Tobias was struggling up to his feet, careful now not to kick any of his friends.

A few moments silence. Then the door of the _Misfortune_ was forced open from the outside. Jake, a bit woozy, peered at the creature who appeared in the doorway. A creature that was neither human, Hork-Bajir, Taxxon or Andalite.

He stood on legs that were jointed twice, as if a human had been walking around with heels in the air, and his feet were equipped with the huge giant claws that never touched the floor as he walked or stood. His upper body was like a human's, with strong shoulders and long arms, but his hands were different; he was missing a little finger and instead a short blade grew straight out from the side of his hand. The face was vaguely similar to a human's again – equipped with a lizard-like mouth, this time – but the ears were on short stalks. It had a long tail, spiked at the end, but that looked like it was more for balance and show than an actual weapon. The parts most similar to weapons were on the head; growing up and back from his forehead were two long horns that whipped through the air around him like angry snakes.

It talked in a voice that dwindled between high and low notes, using a language that no-one in the _Misfortune_ could understand. But Menderash reported in thought-speech from the _Complexity_ that his translating chip could decipher it if he heard enough of it.

There was one word, though, that Jake recognized immediately; "Human."

The next second another of the creatures had appeared in the doorway, and his horns whipped forwards. Faster than Tobias could flash his tail to stop them, they had curled around Jake's neck, lifted him clear off the floor, and begun throwing him out of the craft.


	4. What Estrid did about the Intrepid situa...

**4 What Estrid did about the _Intrepid_ Situation**

- - -

«Assumed dead.»

Estrid-Corill-Darrath's stalks twitched at the memory of the words. The only words the Fleet had been willing to share.

«Assumed dead.»

Assumed. Meaning they did not know. Meaning he could still be alive. Meaning that, if only someone looked hard enough… 

It would be better to know, Estrid thought. Better if the information had been simple, such as; _alive_. Or dead. She would prefer knowing he was dead to not knowing anything.

If Arifur had been dead… confirmed dead… yes, much simpler. She would know. She could mourn her brother, cry, long for his return but know it would never happen. It would be there. A fact. A knowledge, tearing at her hearts. But she would at least know. She could find a way to deal with it. Somehow.

But how do you deal with 'assumed'?

You find out. That was how you dealt with it.

«Assumed dead.»

Estrid pulled a deep breath and shifted her weigh to another set of hooves as she looked down over the unfamiliar scoop.

Arifur had been on the _Intrepid_. She remembered his joy over being stationed there. He had been stationed on the only ship not doing boring guard duty! The only ship still out there, scanning for enemies. He had almost been prancing when he received the message. Almost been leaping with joy over being stationed on the famous Prince Aximili's ship. And Arifur was not the type of Andalite who 'pranced', or 'leapt with joy'.

Ajaht's fault, partly. If it had not been for Ajaht, Arifur would not have been as good with his tail. And then he might not have been chosen. Ajaht was the highest scoring exhibition tail fighter on the Andalite planet. Arifur was almost as good, but he was not interested in tail-fighting for a sport. His dreams had always been up among the stars.

The two, Ajaht and Arifur, were twins, different as night and day in the mind but identical to all and any four eyes.

And Ajaht had said Arifur was still alive.

That was all the proof Estrid needed.

Now she just had to find him, which was not as easy. In fact, it was turning out to be one of the hardest tasks Estrid had ever taken on – including advanced plintconarythmics.

She was not invited to the scoop. On the contrary, she had almost been directly told not to come there. But you never got far by lowering your tail and doing as you were told. Especially not if you were just a young Andalite female. She had learned that lesson long ago – the hard way. 

She adjusted the small sac hung over her shoulders – it contained all her possessions – and gathered her courage. She began walking, down towards the scoop, but soon she broke into a trot and then a wild gallop. Estrid did not fool herself; she was far from the bravest of Andalites. But somehow running faster lessened her fear.

When she came into thought-speech range she slowed down and stopped. Bad enough to intrude on the family's land, she could at least show some respect by keeping a distance to the scoop itself.

«Hello?» she called, forcing her voice to obey. «Anyone home?»

Out of the scoop came another Andalite. His fur was tanned, all over his face, shoulders, and around his tail-blade and hooves. Despite being aged, he still held his tail and stalks high with the life-force of youth, as well as immense pride. But the way he moved, with short, jerky movements, signalled anger. The way his tail twitched showed clearly that even if he let it twitch uncontrollably at the moment, he knew well how to use it.

That was okay. Estrid knew how to use her tail, too, she reminded herself.

«You!» snapped the Andalite when he trotted up closer. «I know you. I recognize your thought-speech. I told you to keep away! Leave us alone!»

«My name is Estrid-Corill-Darrath,» Estrid said, looking up at him with all four eyes, hoping her gaze was steadier than her tumbling thoughts. «I am the sister of Ajaht-Litsom-Esth.»

«The tail-blade showie. Good. Now I know how to contact your parents. Which I will do, believe me!»

Estrid ignored that and continued. «I am also the sister of Arifur-Litsom-Esth.»

He peered forwards. «And why would I care about that? Go home!» He turned around, demonstratively swiveling both stalks away as well. A deliberate insult. After which he began trotting away.

«My brother was on your son's ship!» Estrid called after him.

He stopped. A stalk peered back towards her.

«Please, I just want to know…»

«Aximili's ship?»

Estrid hesitated, but gathered her courage again and said; «Yes. The _Intrepid_. You can check the records if you do not believe me.»

The old Andalite swiveled his stalks away again. For a few moments, he was gone, disappeared into his own world, although there was a slight tremble in his back legs.

«Noorlin?» Another Andalite appeared. This one a female, her lilac-blue fur touched with gold instead of a male's tan. She walked up to her husband, not even glancing at Estrid, and snuck her blade up to touch his as she lifted a comforting hand towards his face.

He stopped the hand halfway by grabbing her wrist. «Forlay,» he said. «It is about Aximili-kala.»

Forlay looked up towards Estrid with a sigh. «Another one?»

Noorlin, the male, turned his stalks back to look at Estrid. «Not at all. This one has a reason. A brother that was on the _Intrepid_.» He swiveled those judgmental stalks away, dismissingly, and said; «We cannot bring your brother back, female. As little as we can bring our own son back. Leave.»

He walked down towards his scoop. His wife crossed her arms over her chest, let one stalk follow him as he went and smiled with the remaining three eyes at Estrid. But it was a sad smile. Strained. «Do not listen to him,» she advised. «He is an old grouch.»

Noorlin flinched at the word but kept going.

«Come,» Forlay continued. «Join us for some _galath_ root. We could talk.»

Estrid followed her towards the scoop.

«He is angry,» Forlay continued, maybe mostly to herself. «At everything. The War Council and their people, as well as the Fleet, say nothing. You cannot get an unnecessary word out of them. Or a necessary one, for that matter. They say my Aximili is "missing in action", and leave it at that.» She was silent for a second, but then asked; «What have they told you?»

«"Assumed dead",» Estrid said, shivering. «But Arifur is alive. Ajaht knows that.» At Forlay's confused glance, Estrid added; «They are twins. Ajaht will know if…»

Forlay gave her a sympathetic look. Twins were rare, each case special, but they all had one thing in common; they were two individuals linked by some part of their minds; two individuals that deep down were the same.

«And to make it worse,» Forlay continued, «a lot of young females drop by, hoping to see Aximili. They do not realize he is not here. They do not know. At first, we thought you were one of them.»

«I have already met Aximili,» Estrid admitted.

«Oh? Where?»

«On Earth.»

Forlay smiled again. «You went to Earth? Interesting.»

«Only briefly,» Estrid said. The subject was uncomfortable. «Do you know anything else about what happened to the _Intrepid_?»

«Guesses and hopes, only,» Forlay said. «But you are in luck. We have guests at the moment. Aximili's cousin, Nemsar-Trenomar-Etiphor. He is a Prince as well. And, as opposed to the rest of the military, he is willing to help. His sister Larynia-Talene-Sirinial came with him. She is stationed as his apprentice, or something like that. Nobody else would take on an _aristh_ who was thrown out of the Academy.»

Estrid's main eyes went a bit wide, but she quickly got rid of the expression. «The Military Academy?»

«Yes. Something about turning tail on an instructor and two other students.» When she continued, there was unmistakably a note of pride in her voice; «None of the three was looking especially happy afterwards.»

«Thank you for warning me.»

«Warn you? The girl is harmless. Unless you make her mad. I do not know what that instructor did, but I can guess. And if I guessed correctly, I am surprised that he is still alive.» She spoke more to herself as she added; «Larynia did not kill him, but Nemsar would…»

«Forlay!» Noorlin called from inside the scoop. «are you coming?»

Forlay rolled her stalks. Smiled at Estrid. «What was you name again?»

«Estrid. Estrid-Corill-Darrath.»

«Good. My complete name is Forlay-Esgarrouth-Maheen, and the grouch is known as Noorlin-Sirinial-Cooraf. Estrid, I welcome you to our scoop. Run on our grass as freely as you would run on your own.»

«I thank you,» Estrid replied, stretching out a hand towards Forlay. Forlay did the same, their palms pressed together, and the welcoming of guests ceremony was finished.

The two trotted down to the scoop and entered, Forlay leading the way, to where Noorlin and two other Andalites stood. There was _galath_ root spread over the floor.

Nemsar could be described by two simple words; big and dangerous. He had a tail-blade as long as the average arm, at the end of a long, muscular tail, and shoulders and arms that would have fit better on a human body builder – Estrid had seen one on Earth. He had the type of strong back legs that would make a good number of less scholarly females twitch their stalks around for a second and third – maybe even fourth – look. Also, he was about a head taller than most Andalites she had met.

His sister Larynia was a contrast to her brother by giving the impression of being nimble and small. When she came closer, Estrid noticed that only the first was correct. Instead of simply being small in size as she appeared, Larynia was just unusually slender, especially by her wrists and tail-blade. She was around Estrid's own age, but displayed a lot more confidence, cockiness.

But just as Nemsar her stalks kept circling; the stalks of a warrior – even there, where they could easily feel safe. No; they stopped circling now and then. Only to start again with a jerk. She was not really into the habit yet. 

«Who is this?» Nemsar asked when Estrid came closer.

«Her name is Estrid-Corill-Darrath,» Forlay informed him. «She came because she wants to know what happened to her brother, Arifur. Also missing from the _Intrepid_.»

«Then perhaps she would need to know what has been said so far,» Nemsar said. He smiled with a stalk. «You see, I have a friend in a very high position in Apex Level. I saved his son's life when his fighter crashed, so he owes me a few favours. He told me the basics; what they refer to as the _Intrepid_ Situation is a serious threat to peace. They have one survivor, who told his story and then was sent on a mission that made my friend focus his attention elsewhere when I asked about it.»

«The Fleet and Apex are good at that,» Noorlin muttered.

Nemsar continued; «The _Intrepid_ had detected a ship they believed was dead-in-space. They sent a boarding party of two dozen warriors, led by Aximili, the captain-Prince, my cousin. None from that party returned. They are the ones labelled "missing", or "assumed dead". The ones that remained on the _Intrepid_ are all confirmed dead. And that brings us up to where we left off, I believe.»

«Why do they call it a "threat to peace?"» Estrid asked.

Nemsar hesitated, glanced at Noorlin, and when he did not move Nemsar's eyes turned to Forlay.

«You can tell her,» Forlay said firmly. «And we wish to know as well.»

«The dead-in-space ship… it was not really dead-in-space,» Nemsar continued, all signs of the hesitation gone. «It was very much alive… plus it contained the Blade ship.»

«A Yeerk Blade ship?» Noorlin said.

«No. _The_ Blade ship. The one that escaped from Earth. The one that holds an _escafil_ device.»

Estrid nodded again. She had made sure to keep herself informed about the developments on Earth. She knew about 'the' Blade ship. As well as about anything else the Fleet had revealed. Even a few things they tried to keep secret. Like the 'quarantine' plans – Arifur had told her.

«The boarding party are believed to be on that Blade ship… at least Aximili is. And that ship went into Kelbrid space.» Again he hesitated. «A few days ago the War Council announced to the War Princes and Princes that the Kelbrid have declared war.»

«Then Arifur was with the boarding party,» Estrid reasoned. And shivered. Her brother might not be dead, but being a prisoner on a Yeerk ship hardly counted as alive, either. «Do you know anything else?»

«No,» Nemsar said sadly. «Nothing more. Believe me, I wish I knew. Or at least knew if Apex Level knows. I know war is heading our way. Any attempts to find the boarding party or the Blade ship are now second priority, if not less. We do not know the strength of the Kelbrid, but we know this war will not be pretty.»

«Do they know anything about us?» Forlay asked.

Nemsar nodded. «Rumour among the Princes says that the Kelbrid are allied with the Yeerks. My friend in Apex refused to comment that, of course, but in that case they know us very well. Perhaps even too well.»

«At least too well for us to feel safe,» Larynia commented. It was the first thing she had said, and Estrid glanced at her curiously. «That's why there has been a massive rearmament. They've allowed female _aristh_s – at least officially – for the last ten years, but now there is an open demand for them.»

«To my sister's great delight,» Nemsar said, smiling fondly at her with his main eyes.

Estrid thought for a few moments.

She did not really know what she had hoped to achieve by coming there.

Answers, perhaps.

All she had was more questions. And more worries.

«Thinking about your brother?» Larynia guessed, for some reason using private thought-speech.

«Yes,» Estrid confirmed, also privately. «And Aximili.»

«You know my cousin?»

«I met him on Earth. A… mission… I was part of.»

Larynia showed no signs of the conversation on her face, so neither did Estrid. But the _aristh_'s voice was a little excited when she said; «A military mission? Are you also an _aristh_? Did you attend the Academy?»

«Not really an _aristh_. I went to the University of Advanced Scientific Theory. I did… plintconarythmics, and other… dimensional studies, to put it in simple terms.» Estrid decided to leave out her second specialty: viruses. The programmable Quasi viruses. «I had scientific duties on that mission.»

Larynia was silent, thinking. Nemsar, Noorlin and Forlay were discussing something, but the two young females stood watching each other, neither listening that hard to what was being said. Larynia's stalks had stopped circling again, but she had not noticed.

«Would you like to find your brother?» Larynia asked finally.

The question surprised Estrid. «Of course. I… I miss him a lot.»

Larynia smiled. «Then how about another mission into space?»

Again, Estrid was surprised. Surely, the _aristh_ could not..?

«I'm serious,» Larynia assured her.

«Yes, but… how…»

«I'll convince Nemsar. Don't worry. I'll get you out into space. And we'll find a way to get to Kelbrid territory. I want to find that Blade ship, too, you know. Any _aristh_ at the Academy dreams about finding it. Maybe together, the two of us will get lucky. Do you want to go or not?»

«How many rules would this break?»

She grinned. «I haven't bothered to count them yet. But I'm an expert at ignoring regulations, and I'm not going to stop now.» Without waiting for a response, she turned a stalk towards her brother – the other began circling again. «Nemsar?» she said, now in open thought-speech. «When are we going back to the _BladeSwipe_?»

«In a few hours,» Nemsar replied.

«Good. Estrid will be joining us.»

'Will be'? In definite, decided form. Strange way for an _aristh_ to address her Prince. Strange way for a young Andalite to address an older sibling.

Nemsar's main eyes looked down at her, his eyebrows raised. «She will?» he said – mildly, considering that the _aristh_ was way out of line. «Have you even asked her?»

«Yes. I have.»

«Good. Because it would have been just like you to forget that. And then you asked me as well. Definite improvement, Larynia. But no, she will _not_ be coming with us.»

«Why not?»

«Because.»

Larynia looked angry. «If you don't give me a reason I can't argue with you, Nemsar.»

«That's the point, sister dear,» he said smugly. «That way, I cannot lose.»

«Cheater.»

Nemsar sighed.

«This is not especially nice of you, Nemsar.»

He looked away. Larynia leaped sideways to stay in his line of sight.

He rolled his stalks. «Even if you convince me, Larynia, she simply cannot go. There are rules. Regulations. Restrictions.»

«You're a Prince. Overrule them.»

«Larynia! Do not ask me to do that!»

«I know. You need a reason. A qualified excuse. A justification to ease your conscience. How about this; she's from the University, so she could be studying space phenomena.»

«I do not have the authority to bring passengers to the _BladeSwipe_. I'm not the Captain.»

«You practically turn the Captain's stalks for him, so do not even try that.» She smiled and added; «This is good, Nemsar, now the argument has begun. Keep going so I can win it.»

But Nemsar straightened up. And used what must be his Prince-voice when he said; «No, _aristh_. You will do as you are told, and nothing further.»

Larynia's eyes flashed. «Yes, my Prince,» she said stiffly, bowed her stalks and then glared up at him with a look not at all suited for an _aristh_. «Will my Prince allow the scientist to study space phenomena and perhaps search for her brother?»

Silence. Larynia, the _aristh_, glared at her brother, the Prince. Not a scenario you see everyday, Estrid thought. Nemsar looked back, calmly, while Estrid watched them both. She wanted to go look for Arifur, in any way she could, but maybe this was not the right 'any way'…

«Estrid?» Forlay said gently. «would your parents allow this?»

«I moved away from home a long time ago,» Estrid replied. «To the University, at first. After my trip to Earth, I've been living here and there, mostly at different schools. My parents like to know where I am, but require nothing more. They may not like this, but they will not stop me.»

«See?» Larynia snapped. «She can go. All you have to do, Prince Nemsar, is to let her. How hard can it be?»

«Do you even know how many regulations you are violating at the moment, _aristh_?»

«Around half a dozen. So punish me; make me polish the Dome or something. Can she go?»

Nemsar flicked his tail, one hoof about to scrape the ground but stopping at the last moment. Froze, watching her. «If she doesn't, you'll be pestering me about it for a couple of weeks, won't you?»

«Try a couple of months. And yes, now that you mention it, I think I will. Can she go?»

Nemsar rolled his stalks and flicked his tail to the side, glancing first at Estrid and then at his sister. And at Forlay.

«Let them get their way,» Forlay ordered.

Noorlin chuckled, perhaps expecting that.

«You females always stick together. What's a poor Prince to do?» Nemsar sighed, lowering both tail and stalks. «Fine. She can come.»

«Excellent,» Larynia said, in a voice that almost purred.

- - -

Updated Author's note from 2007;

flinch

Ouch, here we go. The Mary Sues are in the house. I was _way_ too fond of Larynia from Time Matrix Chronicles to be able to include her and her friends here with style. The result is... rocky. And I mean rocky as in the rocking-and-shaking way, not the firm-as-a-rock way.

Some day, perhaps 2011 when my education is done (or more likely 2075 when I retire), I'm going to edit her away from her Sue-ishness. But I don't have time for that now.


	5. Who the Rachel's crew didn't expect to m...

**5 Who the Rachel's crew didn't expect to meet**

- - -

Jake landed shoulder-first and rolled. The air cracked above him and he felt the horn sting his back like a whip. He stopped rolling, pulling together and focusing to morph.

Tobias was still in the doorway. He would have been outside the _Misfortune_ by then, if two of the horned beings hadn't blocked his way, standing shoulder to shoulder with horns whipping madly.

"Jeanne, stay hidden!" Jake ordered, hoping the aliens couldn't understand what he was saying, and knowing her well enough to know she would have been on her way out. He just hoped she'd do as she was told.

The air cracked again. A horn whooshed downwards. Jake tensed, jaws clenched, waiting for the horn to strike.

Instead there was another "whoosh". But neither horn ever reached his back.

He glanced up over his shoulder and saw two of the creatures standing there, their horns whipping back and forth above him, one set of horns keeping the other off his back. From their angry gestures, they were arguing. One of them wanted to hurt him – probably badly, too – while the other didn't.

Jake briefly wondered what they were saying.

But he had more urgent problems. He decided to take this chance while he had it.

He leaped to his feet and dove back to the _Misfortune_.

The horns were fast. Incredibly fast; faster than an Andalite's tail. But the creatures reacted slowly. The two that had stood over him took a step back each when he flew up. By the time they had registered what was happening, Jake had covered the two meters back to the relative safety inside the _Misfortune_, diving between the ones that stood in the doorway, and was trying to morph as quickly as possible.

Tobias leaped out of his way and then retook his place by the doorway. His tail was cocked; but Jake wasn't sure how much that would help.

"Tobias, tell the _Complexity_ in thought-speech to be ready to morph bad and come out at my word. Keep Menderash out of sight. These things do not like humans."

«No kidding,» Tobias said, doing as he was told.

Another of the creatures appeared in the doorway, pushing his two friends out of his way. Jake watched through half-tiger eyes and realized it was the same one that had defended him. He had a curved line – possibly a scar – across his forehead.

He peered into the craft. He took a look at Tobias, whose tail still was cocked and ready, but turned away, unimpressed. He looked down at Jake, possibly intrigued by the morphing process, but again not that impressed. He generally had the unimpressed expression of a warrior who's seen too much to be easily daunted.

Then he lifted a hand. Everyone in the craft tensed, but the creature only pointed with his three fingers at Jake. "Human," he said.

He brought both hands to his chest. "Kelbrid," his voice again deep and harmonious. Then he pointed at Tobias and the question was clear.

«Andalite,» Tobias said.

The Kelbrid recognized the term and seemed to consider it for a moment, his ears turning this way and that to localize the source of the thought-speech which he was unused to hearing.

Jeanne came out from her hiding place, carefully watching the Kelbrid. He looked calmly back, ears slightly raised and aimed at her, making no attempt to move.

"Human," Jeanne said, pointing at herself. Then, doing the same thing again, added; "Jeanne."

The creature thought again, puzzled, but then understood and nodded. "Kelbrid," he snapped, slamming a fist against his chest. "Ka'an."

Jeanne smiled. "Jake," she said, very slowly. "He's seen humans before. Actually, he's been around humans a lot."

«Whatever makes you think that?»

"I don't think, I know. Didn't you see that? He _nodded_. A human habit. If he's picked it up, he's been a lot around humans."

«The only humans in this part of the galaxy are Yeerks,» Tobias commented dryly.

«So assuming they don't like Yeerks, that would explain why they attacked me,» Jake said. He was demorphing, and so was Tobias. «And also why they attacked the bugs. But not why our new friend here helped me in the end.»

"Let me try something," Jeanne said. She pointed at Ka'an and asked; "Yeerk?"

He shook his head fiercely, horns whipping irritably, the slits on his cheeks opening and closing more rapidly. His large claws clicked against the floor. He pointed at Jake. Then Tobias. And finally at Jeanne. "Yeerks?" he wondered, his voice shrill again.

The three of them shook their heads, and Ka'an nodded, pleased.

«This is good,» Tobias stated.

Ka'an looked down at him, again a hawk, watching the beak and wings and talons and trying to figure out what they were all for. He said, for some reason almost sounding amused; "Andalite?"

«Red-tailed hawk,» Tobias corrected, folding out his wings and flapping once. «Tobias.»

Ka'an turned both ears and eyes towards him. Again, the slits on his cheeks opened and closed more rapidly. Other than that, he didn't move. Until one hand was slowly lifted, eyes following it, and his entire arm pointed at Jake.

"Jake," he said. The hand swept over the three of them. His face shone up as if he had just won a guessing game. "Animorphs."

- - -

The Dome ship _SwiftHoof_ exited Z-space far from the others. Then again, the three ships were supposed to spread out over a wide area. Their only backup was the half a dozen cruiser ships that patrolled back and forth, but at the time not one of them were within half an hour's distance.

The _SwiftHoof_'sCaptain, Prince Aragus-Piralidi-Toman, was a battle scarred former fighter pilot. He only had one arm after the other had been lost in a crash with his fighter, a scar over his face from a close encounter with a Hork-Bajir-Controller in his days as an _aristh_, and a deep jack in his tail-blade from cutting his way free – through a wall that had not been very cooperative. Also, that he swore a lot about when no-one could hear, he had a trick knee on his left front leg. Since he was proud over his injuries, as he well showed, he had never considered having them fixed. The scar could easily have been removed. The arm could have been replaced. And the blade-jack could have been filled in. And the trick knee, he was sure, could be healed.

And even more easily, just by morphing. But Prince Aragus didn't believe in morphing. Partly because he had managed most of his career without it and had decided to continue doing so, and partly because of his pride – he was allergic to morphing.

«Any enemy ships around, First Officer?» Aragus asked.

First Officer Jarathur looked over his screen and shook his head. «No ships, Captain,» he said. «Only a group of fighters. Almost straight ahead; five degrees right. Not ours; unknown.»

«How many?» Aragus asked.

Jarathur glanced up. Out from the bridge, out into black space. «Hundreds.»

The Tactical Officer, a younger but very bright Andalite called Kindelil, laughed. «Merely hundreds? They are only fighters. Against a Dome ship. They do not stand a chance. They'll be slaughtered. Like sending an army of un-hosted Yeerks to fight an armed Andalite.»

«Tactical Officer,» Aragus drawled. «These are fighters of unknown type. Let us not underestimate our enemy. Especially not before we have even seen him face to face.»

«I do not underestimate him, Captain,» Kindelil objected. «I am simply curious to see what kind of damage they think they can do with just fighters.»

Aragus glanced at him with a stalk. Kindelil was smart; what came through his thought-speech was not always as intelligent. Unfortunately. «Jarathur, put the ship in condition one. Let us go meet these fighters.» He smiled. «And see what they can do.»

«Condition one,» Jarathur ordered. Andalites around the bridge began moving. «Standard burn, course; five degrees right.»

The _SwiftHoof_ shot forwards – five degrees right, to be exact – at standard burn. Its crew had spread out, each at their battle stations, and the fighter pilots had disappeared down to the docks to be ready in case the orders were to launch the fighters.

Since the foreign crafts were small and black, they were not easy to spot to the eye alone. But the Dome ship picked them up and displayed them on screen long before the bridge's crew could get a visual.

«How many, exactly, First Officer?» Aragus asked.

«Five hundred and sixty-four.»

«Why pick such an irregular number?» Kindelil mused. «Have they been to battle and lost a few, and sent the survivors here? Or do the Kelbrid have some sort of formation that turns such a number into an advantage? Or do they not even care about the number?»

«Very un-warriorlike not to worry about how many stand on your side,» Jarathur commented.

«No,» Kindelil disagreed, another smile peering forth in his eyes. «Very brave.»

Jarathur sighed. «Whatever you wish to call it, our primary problem is this; do we attack or let them be? Captain?»

«Standing orders are to protect the border, and observe. We do not attack unless they do. We keep a close eye on them and report back whatever we learn about them.»

«They are moving,» a pilot reported. «They are changing their formations.»

Aragur trotted up to the screen, glanced down at it, but didn't find anything useful. The markings that represented the fighters were only jumbled, and more so by the minute. Instead, he looked up, out through the window, to see things with his own eyes.

What he saw amazed him.

- - -

"Translation at fifty-one percent," Menderash reported when the Kelbrid pilot had silenced.

"That chip is certainly taking its time," Marco muttered. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor of the Kelbrid arrowhead-shaped fighter, leaning against a wall. Menderash was standing; he had never really gotten used to the concept of sitting.

Menderash shrugged. "It would be quicker if this Kelbrid was more talkative."

"I know," Marco sighed. This specific Kelbrid had turned out to be one of those against humans. "I know. You've told me that. A few hundred times. But we've been here, how long? Seven hours?"

"Five hours and sixteen minutes."

"Whatever. The point is, we're in a Kelbrid fighter. We don't know if the Kelbrid pilot is a friend or if he's planning to dump us in the nearest black hole. We don't know where he's taking us. We don't even know if we're guests, or prisoners. All we know is that Jake's latest crazy, reckless and ruthless plan meant us being divided into groups and going with these Kelbrid peacefully."

"And you don't like it?" Menderash guessed.

"Exactly. I'd trust my life to Jake's instincts, but fact is – he's not exactly here to be trusted. He's on another fighter, with Jeanne, and Tobias and Santorelli are on yet another. If these Kelbrid turn bad on us, we're dogfood."

"At least we still have our pack," Menderash said optimistically.

"I'd feel better if that pack contained some serious fire power," Marco said.

"And I'd feel better if I had my tail," the former Andalite replied. He was glancing down at the computer consoles and controls of the fighter, over the pilot's shoulder. The pilot ignored him. But Menderash was fascinated; the console was not even similar to anything he had ever seen before.

"Ask him if we're there yet," Marco suggested.

Menderash did so, in thought-speech to get past the language difference. That could be done because thought-speech is more structured by feelings and thoughts than actual words.

The Kelbrid replied curtly, his voice dwindling between sharp and harmonious tones. Marco didn't understand half a word, but Menderash nodded.

"He said 'we are not there yet'," Menderash reported. "Translation is now at sixty-nine percent."

"Ask how far we have to go."

Menderash did so. The Kelbrid answered. And Menderash said; "The numbers and units would mean nothing to you, since they mean almost nothing to me. But we have, even at maximum burn here in Z-space, at least half a day to go."

"Figures." Marco rolled his eyes. "And translation?"

"At eighty-six percent. But also, I believe he told me to shut up."

- - -

As Captain-prince Aragus watched, the triangular black Kelbrid fighters outside the _SwiftHoof_ were building up like building blocks. Stacking on each other. Uniting. He saw two fighters line up side by side, and their hulls melted together like clay. A third joined them. And a fourth. A fifth, sixth, and more. More; a line of fighters joining with the next, joining with yet another group, until Aragur lost count.

«What are they doing?"» Jarathur wanted to know, also watching intently.

«Building a bigger ship,» Kindelil said, main eyes narrowed. «Very clever.»

«Captain? Should we attack?» Jarathur asked uncertainly.

«They have not yet showed any signs of hostility,» Aragus reminded them.

«When they do, it might be too late,» Jarathur pointed out.

«Yes,» Aragus agreed. «It might. Power up the shredders, aim at that… that cluster of fighters. If they decide to turn against us, we only have to fire. But in the mean time, bring the technicians to the bridge. They might enjoy seeing this.»

Jarathur made sure the orders were followed. Still watching the fighters build up a ship, he said; «Captain, it is almost as if they were alive. The fighters. They do not link together; they grow together. They switch shape. See for yourself; watch them.»

«I've noticed, Jarathur,» Aragus sighed. «I am not blind.»

«Captain,» a pilot warned. «They are constructing some sort of weapon.»

«Dracon? Or shredder?»

«Neither, Captain. Unknown. It might not even be an energy beam. Wrong construction, wrong…» he hesitated, frowning.

«Spare me the details. What is it?»

The pilot stirred, watching his screen with his main eyes, stalks staring out at the Kelbrid fighters. «It is not an energy weapon,» he concluded. «Perhaps it emits a pulse of some sort. But it is definitely being aimed at us.»

«Then prepare an evasive manoeuvre,» Aragus snapped. «As soon as that thing is ready to fire, we will move out of its way and return fire.»

«Yes, Captain.» And the orders were, again, promptly followed.

The weapon loaded, unaware of the Andalites' worries. A dim light began appearing in the centre; a sudden white flash made the light intensify – and made everyone present on the bridge jump, with the exception of the technicians that had just arrived. They stood with all four eyes intently focused on the fighters, on screens and on the weapon where the flash of white had appeared.

«Move!» Aragus snapped. «Before it has finished loading! Fire!»

The _SwiftHoof_ sped to the side, aimed its giant cannons and fired.

Fighters exploded into flames. Large chunks and parts fell away from the monster ship that the Kelbrid had built up. But the damaged parts just reshaped themselves back into damaged fighters, fell away from the ship to meet their fate, and were replaced so quickly that when the _SwiftHoof_ fired again, the beam of green had barely faded away by the time the enemy ship had healed itself.

«It is not taking any damage,» Jarathur reported. «It just rebuilds.»

«I have noticed that,» Aragus snapped. «Fire again! Full power.»

The TSEEEW was enormous. The ears of the Andalites rang like someone had set off an explosion in them.

But the ship rebuilt as quickly as it was damaged. Calmly continued charging up its single, occasionally white-flashing weapon.

Kindelil had been thinking. «If we fire enough… they will not have fighters to rebuild the main ship. The only problem is that the ship consists of perhaps eighty fighters. They have over five hundred fighters all together. By the time we take out all those… it might be too late.»

«That weapon takes a lot of time to load,» Jarathur pointed out.

«Yes, it does,» Kindelil agreed. «Which can mean one of three things; either it is very powerful, or just very slow… or they want us to think it is one of those.»

«I want a full analysis of that weapon,» Aragus commanded.

«Yes, captain,» a technician said. He took a few steps forwards towards a computer console and began working.

«It's preparing to fire!» a pilot warned in a thought-speech cry.

«Hard left!» Aragus barked.

The _SwiftHoof_ jerked left, but the weapon didn't fire in a single beam. Instead, there was a flash of blinding white light. A pulsation, a wave sent across space. The entire ship shook, as if it had been hit by a giant-sized sledgehammer. Everyone on the bridge was thrown to the floor and Aragus' bad knee got another bruise.

«Damage report; zero percent,» a pilot reported. He was the first back on his hooves. Andalites were climbing back up, woozy but for the most part unharmed.

«What kind of weapon causes zero damage?» Jarathur said. «These fighters are even more chanceless than we thought.»

«No,» Kindelil disagreed. He brought a hand to his forehead. «The ship is unharmed, yes, but…»

Aragus blinked to clear his vision. Black spots were dancing around its edges. He ignored it and focused out into space. Focused. Focused. Focused… on what?

Ah, yes. The fighters.

«Captain, I seem to be experiencing a mild distortion,» Kindelil reported. «I believe I am not the only one.»

'Mild'? Aragus forced his thoughts back into place and held them in some sort of order. «Exactly what type of weapon was that?» he snapped.

«It…» the technician glanced at his Captain with a stalk, hesitating. «It emits a pulse that affects… affects the electricity in the brain. Negatively.»

«Which means?» Aragus said.

Kindelil was smiling. He was looking down at the technician's screen. And understanding it. «It means, Captain, that our brains are shutting down. Slowly, the weapon is not yet perfected… but effectively. It will send us into a deep coma.»

There was a thought-speech shout of alarm and Aragus's stalk swivelled around. A warrior fell heavily as his knees folded under him. The Andalite who had shouted took a step towards him and then stumbled. Fell.

It came as a shock. All of a sudden, warriors and pilots were falling as if struck by shredders at full power. The Captain's stalks were flying back and forth, trying to see each one fall, helplessly watching.

«Keep aware!» he ordered. «Keep aware, or I'll demote you all to _arisths_!»

Those who heard him tried to a do as they were told. Jarathur suddenly fell a step to the side, looked up at the captain with a «Sorry,» and his eyes rolled into the back of his head. Kindelil just smiled and collapsed, looking more curious at the process of collapsing than worried about the consequences.

«Activate the distress beacon,» Aragus instructed. Then he looked around, and saw that he was almost the only one left standing. The only one close enough.

He took a step forwards, towards the familiar computer console, and then fell face-first. His mind darkened, but he forced his hooves to obey him and pushed himself along the floor. He reached the foot of the console, and for once wished he had two arms instead of one.

Two weak Andalite arms would have done little good to pull him up. With only one arm, it might as well be impossible. Aragus's weak fingers closed on the edge of the console, and his arm strained.

Then the darkness overwhelmed him, and just minutes after that the Kelbrid fighters carefully began advancing on the helpless, unaware Dome ship.

- - -

What Marco considered to must at least be a day later the fighter and its hundreds of sister crafts had still not arrived at their destination. They still had no idea where Jake, Jeanne, Tobias, or Santorelli were.

Menderash, though, ruined all Marco's fun by stating that only thirteen hours (and forty-three minutes) had passed. At which Marco muttered something about details for at least another hour – five minutes, Menderash corrected smugly.

And that was when Marco became totally convinced that Andalites actually had a sense of humour. Not that he himself thought it much fun.

Fortunately, by then translation was at a hundred percent and Menderash and the Kelbrid pilot – which by then had admitted to carry the name So'otar – could talk more freely. But So'otar was still uninterested in talking. He replied curtly and sharply when spoken to, but otherwise kept silent. Even though his tone of voice – although alien – was a bit hostile his manner and way of addressing his two passengers was faultless.

Menderash had – under Marco's careful instruction – dragged a bit of information about the Kelbrid out of the pilot.

Marco's response to it all was this; "And I thought you Andalites were a honour-loving bunch." (Menderash's response to that was a sharp glare. But he did admit that his people had a certain… fondness… of honour-binding. Not that there was anything wrong with that, he was quick to add.)

So'otar might not have been too fond of humans, but he hated the Yeerks with a fury almost worthy of an Andalite. Menderash and he found a common interest there, and after it was revealed that Marco had about the same opinion on the matter So'otar was suddenly more open against the two.

When asked why, he said one thing that Menderash smiled about when he translated it into; "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

By the time even Menderash agreed that an entire day – 24 hours – had passed, Marco was in an extremely lousy mood. On top of that, he was hungry, and thirsty. He was complaining, in very colourful terms, about how Jake and Jeanne had "stolen" the part of the pack containing their food and drink.

Even Menderash was getting uneasy when the fighter – together with the rest of the fleet of fighters – finally left Z-space and returned to normal space.

Half an hour after that a small, green-blue planet came into view, near a gigantic, red-gold sun.

"Cava'ara," So'otar said and smiled. Kelbrid smile by widening the slits on their cheeks and leaning their ears outwards. The expression had been a mystery until Menderash had asked about it.

"Is that your home?" Menderash wondered at Marco's command.

"No," So'otar replied. "We Kelbrid have no home. We lost our home before we even got Z-space travel, to a species who enjoyed blowing up planets. They were called the Jijfku – past tense, because we have since then hunted down and destroyed them. But maybe it is for the best. No home planet means no home planet in need of defending."

"And Cava'ara?" Menderash was, unavoidably, absorbing all So'otar said like a sponge.

"One of our many colonies."

Menderash had more questions, but So'otar ignored them. He had begun talking to the other pilots over the communications – another piece of machinery that fascinated Menderash. The Kelbrid systems were unique – nothing like the Andalite or Yeerk systems.

Finally the armada of fighters descended to Cava'ara's surface, and landed neatly in a giant clearing. So'otar shut his fighter down and ordered Menderash and Marco to follow when he exited.

Packs heaved up on their backs, they did so and soon met Santorelli and Tobias and the pilot of their fighter. Tobias was in human morph in order to be able to help Santorelli carry the pack. Jeanne and Jake joined them not long after. Then Ka'an appeared and after making sure the six were okay led them towards a nearby tree.

Although, 'tree' was probably an understatement. The trunk was about as thick as a normal tree was tall. There was no trace of branches, leaves, or twigs. And the top was a giant-sized bowl – large enough to land a Dome ship on, as Menderash put it.

Ka'an showed them a rope ladder leading to the top and asked if they wanted help with their heavy packs. The group kept the most important objects with themselves and handed the rest over to a duo of Kelbrid who quickly loaded up and disappeared nimbly up the trunk, using the giant claws on their feet and the blades on their wrists to climb. Jake couldn't help but notice that – while somewhat humanoid in movement on the ground – a Kelbrid in a tree moved with the grace and ease of a large cat.

"Humans," Jeanne muttered.

"And why do you say that this time?" Santorelli asked.

"See how they climb? These Kelbrid wouldn't need a ladder even if both hands were tied behind their backs. And, besides, the ladder is a human invention."

With that, they began climbing up the ladder, debating Jeanne's theories along the way. But by the time they reached the top of a tree, not one of them was interested in talking. Their arms and legs and shoulders were aching, they were all out of breath, and the thin air at the top didn't make things much better.

"Next time, I'm using my Hork-Bajir morph," Marco panted.

Ka'an was waiting with their packs. He listened when Marco spoke but didn't understand. He ignored it and said; "Leave your things. Come."

Menderash translated, Jake considered it for a brief moment and then agreed.

Ka'an led them down into the tree's bowl. At the bottom was something very much like a village. Everything was built in a material that shone like metal, but had cracked like dry clay and felt like soft rubber. The "houses" were cylinders or cones, and the entrances were simply semi-circular holes near the floor. Kelbrid faces watched them curiously as they passed, mostly from inside the houses, while the braver came up and exchanged a few words with Ka'an.

Ka'an finally stopped at a house – a tall cylinder – and motioned for them to enter. Then made a few excuses and hurried off on his own business.

Marco glared sharply at Jake.

"What?" Jake wondered.

"If this is some type of trap, oh Great Fearless Leader, I'm just going to say it once and for all; it's all your fault!!"

"Thank you, Marco, for that brilliant insight," Jeanne sighed. "But I don't seem to remember you doing much to try and stop it."

"Spoilsport."

"Yes. I guess I am."

"Are we going to enter this house-thing or not?" Jake demanded. "In my Fearless Greatness or whatever it was, I call for a vote. Hear, hear, all complainers."

Marco muttered something, shrugged, and climbed in through the door-hole. Tobias followed, with Santorelli and Jeanne closely behind. Menderash hurried after and Jake came in last.

The main room was a small circle. There were four doorways, probably leading to other rooms. But instead of the entrance these were bigger, almost rectangular, wide and tall enough for walking through upright. Big rugs of cloth-like material hung over them and hid what was behind.

The group looked around, unsure of what to do, until one of the rugs moved aside and a human woman entered the room.

Tall. Blond. Very beautiful.

Santorelli, Jeanne and Menderash simply watched, curious but cautious. Maybe seeing something familiar but not really sure what it was. Jake, Marco and especially Tobias were suddenly deadly pale and wide-eyed.

She brushed a hair out of her face and smiled a perfect smile.

"They told me you were coming," she said, spreading her hands a bit wide. Her face was a bit tense. Her eyes a bit wet. "And here you are."

Jake swallowed and blinked a few times to make sure he was seeing what he thought he was seeing.

It was, typically, Marco who blurted it out; "Rachel?"

"Yep," Rachel snapped. "Someone tied up your eyes, Marco? Of course it's me."

Marco nodded slowly. Pulled a hand through his short hair and glanced at Jake.

Silence. No-one had moved as much as half a centimeter since Rachel had appeared. But while the six of them were staring at her, she had not yet looked at any of them. Her eyes stared into space.

"Tobias?" Rachel said then, softly. "I know you're there. Say something. Please."

Tobias didn't move. Aside from trembling. "You… you're dead," he said weakly.

"I know," Rachel replied.

Tobias nodded, slowly. Tears were rolling down his cheeks. He brushed them away with the back of his hand. "All these… all these years. All the pain… all the loneliness… and you've been alive all along."

"I'm sorry," Rachel whispered. "I've missed you too, Tobias, I…"

"No." he took a step forwards. Shook his head. "Don't. Don't say anything." He quickly covered the remaining distance to where she stood. He stopped half a meter from her for a few moments, indecisive, maybe even afraid.

Then he raised his hands and grabbed a gentle hold of her face. Tried a wavering smile as she didn't disappear as she always had in his dreams, and nightmares. He leaned down and kissed her on her lips, blinking away a new set of tears. He looked into her eyes and tried to find her gaze. But her eyes continued staring emptily.

"Rachel," he said, voice thick with emotions. His thumbs were stroking her cheeks. "Rachel, look at me."

Rachel let out a sob. Her eyes flickered downwards.

"What is it?"

"I can't."

"Why not?"

Her hands were slowly lifted and found his arms. Followed them, over his shoulders, up the sides of his neck to his face. She smiled and stroked a tear she found away from the corner of his mouth.

"I'm blind, Tobias."


	6. About the One

**6 About the One**

- - -

"Blind?" Tobias repeated.

Rachel nodded. "Blind," she confirmed. "I see absolutely nothing. Nothing at all."

"But… when…"

"About half a year ago, maybe a bit more."

"Just after the time Ax disappeared," Marco commented. "What happened?"

Rachel pulled free from Tobias's hands and shrugged. "I don't really know what happened. A group of warriors and I were attacking a key group of Yeerk bugs. Since Ka'an had put me in command, it was being done successfully. We were doing some serious damage. Then this green glow appeared all around me and a voice told me – in English – to keep out of his way. My fighter was thrown backwards, ripped apart and I was suddenly out floating in space. That's the last thing I saw. The other pilots saved me from dying, but for some reason I can't see anymore."

Marco's eyes narrowed. "It sounds like we've got an Ellimist-type with a finger in this."

"Did you get hurt badly?" Tobias wondered worriedly.

Rachel shrugged. "That's the thing. I didn't have a scratch on me."

"Why didn't you just morph it away?" Marco wondered.

"I really wish I could, Marco, but for some reason I can't morph, either. Not since I appeared in this part of space."

"Hold on now," Jeanne ordered, lifting her hands. "Is this Rachel? As in, _the_ Rachel? Rachel the Animorph?"

Rachel nodded. "The one and hopefully only. And you are?"

"She's Jeanne," Jake said. "New recruit. And we've also got Santorelli and Menderash-Postill-Fastill."

"An Andalite?" Rachel guessed.

"Human _nothlit_," Santorelli corrected.

"Good for him. Andalites aren't that popular around here." Then her forehead wrinkled worriedly. "Where's Cassie? She's… she's not dead, is she?"

"No," Jake assured her. He was looking troubled. "Cassie's alive. And safe. She's back on Earth."

"And Ax?"

"We're looking for him, so to speak. Long story," Marco said. "We'll tell you later."

Before Rachel said anything further, Jake's worry was unleashed and he had opened his mouth to speak again; "Rachel? I'm sorry… for what happened on the Blade ship. I shouldn't have… shouldn't have given that order. That last one… sending you with Tom. I… I know it was –"

"Did we win?" Rachel interrupted.

"_What_?" Jake said eloquently, blinking once.

"It's a simple question, cousin; did we win?"

Jake blinked. Nodded, realized it did not do any good because she could not see it, and said; "Yes."

Rachel breathed a sigh of relief. "Then it was worth it."

"No," Tobias spat, shaking his head, glaring at Jake, even sending a glare at Rachel, the old anger suddenly steaming again. "It wasn't worth it. Not to me. I don't care about human kind, or the Andalites, or even the Yeerks. None of it was worth losing you." His hands were clenched, challenging someone to disagree.

"Tobias."

"No." He shook his head forcefully, eyes almost hawk-fierce. "Rachel, I loved you, and I still –"

"Listen to me, Tobias!" Rachel snapped. And took a deep breath when he silenced. "Listen. I was a warrior. I was doing my job, and died at it. It was _me_. I've thought this over for three years, almost four, so don't you _dare_ argue with me. I've got a warrior's heart, a fighter's soul, I still have. If I know anything, I know this; I'm not made to live a long, prosperous life and die at home, surrounded by grandkids and a loving family. That life would drive me nuts."

Tobias stared at her. As if he did not believe what he was hearing. Or as if he believed it, knew it to the bottom of his soul, but simply did not want to hear it. Any of it.

"She's right," Marco said finally, trying to sound cheerful. "It would. It almost drove me wacko, and I was a millionaire." A sneaky glance at Jeanne, followed by one at Rachel. Neither reacted, so Marco continued; "And if I almost went nuts, Xena here wouldn't have lasted a week."

"Thanks, Marco," Rachel sighed. "That's exactly it." She stretched out a hand to where she thought Tobias stood, but he had moved. Her hand fell downwards again when it only found empty air. "But that's the past. Over and done with. We're back together now." She grinned. Rubbed her hands. "And I'm sure you've got some mad, suicidal mission I can join."

"Whoa, Rachel," Jake ordered, raising his hands. "Let me see if I've got this straight. You're blind, you can't morph, and you still want to join our mission?"

"Well, that's proof enough for me," Marco commented, jerking his thumb at the blind girl. "This really is Rachel."

"Did you ever doubt it?" Tobias wondered.

"Don't try to be my mother, Jake," Rachel snapped, hands on hips. "What's the mission?" Her eyes narrowed briefly, and she added; "And why is it so important to the Andalites that one of them goes _nothlit_?"

"We're on a search-and-rescue mission," Marco said. "Although we forgot the St. Bernard hounds at home. We're trying to find Ax – known to the Andalites as the Great Prince Aximili, or something like that. Actually, we've found Ax. Now comes the hard part."

Menderash raised an eyebrow at Marco when he said the part about 'Great Prince Aximili'. Rachel smiled at it, happy that her Andalite friend obviously had experienced some success, and Jake rubbed his forehead, rolling his eyes.

"So, where is Ax?" Rachel said.

"This… being," Tobias said. "He calls himself the One. He's taken over Ax. Literally."

Rachel went a little pale. Being Rachel, it was – certainly – no more than just a little. "The one hanging by the Blade ship?"

"You know about him?" Marco said.

A dry laugh. "Who in this quadrant of space _doesn't_ know about the One?" There was a short pause, and Rachel's was face unreadable as she tried to figure out what to say. "He's… a being. I've never seen him myself, that I know of, but he's real. He's like the Ellimist, or Crayak. But that's all I really know. I know more about what he does. He has… followers. The Lost. Also known as the Touched. Manically loyal. Obsessed. I don't think they're even capable of defying his orders."

"A regular cult, then," Santorelli concluded.

But Rachel disagreed. "No. _Really obsessed_. He does something to them… plays games with their minds. Marks them by making their pupils shine with green, especially in the dark. He sees what they see, hears what they hear…" she shrugged. "What do you know about Ax?"

"The One appeared as Ax," Marco told her. "But it couldn't have been Ax, because – as far as I remember – Ax didn't have a mouth."

"A _mouth_?" Rachel said skeptically.

"An ugly one with big red teeth. And he spoke through it – using a voice that definitely wasn't Ax's. Said something about 'this Andalite is part of me'. Creepy."

"Rachel," Tobias said. "Does that fit your description of the Touched?"

She sighed and shook her head. As always, her hair was held straight down and somehow kept in place. "I didn't really have any hope for that from the beginning," she admitted with a grimace. "See, the Touched are voluntary. From the start, at least. Ax wouldn't do that. No, Ax is not one of them."

"Then what has happened to him?"

"I think he's one of the Taken."

"Which means?" Jake wondered.

Even though Rachel was blind, she still expressed things with her eyes – or as much as she ever had. Now they conveyed sadness. "It means, Jake, that if he's still alive – in any form of the word – he'd be wishing he could be a Controller instead."

- - -

Arayah-Althasa-Neferia knew better than to attempt another escape. They always caught her, in the end. There was no-where to run. And instead of walking in herself, the Hork-Bajir would simply lift her, carry her back to the door, and throw her in. To her sensitive Andalite pride, the humiliation was almost unbearable. Especially when they laughed.

So instead of refusing to enter that room, she straightened up as much as she could in the tight shackles and pulled free from the human-Controller's hand. Then she walked into the room on legs she hoped would refrain from folding beneath her, and heard a brief laugh as the door closed behind her with a bang. She almost flinched.

"There you are," a voice said out of the darkness.

The mouth. She had never grown used to the mouth. It was too dark to see it at the moment, maybe the foul being had not even made his appearance yet, but just knowing it would be there…

The shackles on her tail and arms vanished, turned to dust and fell away. A sickening green glow crept out of the corners of the room and made its way towards the middle. She did not move.

"I enjoy these conversations," the voice continued.

«I do not,» Arayah replied. Which was, thanks to the One's constant inventions, all she could remember of any of them. She remembered standing there, in that room, facing a more and more angered One, but she could not remember a single word that had been spoken. Not even what she had been thinking about them.

A glistening row of red, sharp teeth flashed in a hideous grin in the center of the room. Two green eyes, disturbingly Andalite but with the addition of a shining green pupil, twinkled above the teeth. "I know. But sooner or later will be the last time you enter this room. You can put an end to these meetings, Andalite. If you remembered anything about them, you would know how."

The glow gathered in the center; the eyes and mouth were clearly visible. Features around the rest of the face were beginning to appear; all of it alarmingly Andalite. The glow was swirling up and taking a shape, forming into a living, breathing being.

But still not. Rafatal had pointed that out very clearly, that first night in captivity, after meeting the One. Rafatal had said this; «What we saw, was not our Captain. Not our Prince. Not Captain-prince Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthil. He is dead. Or worse. What we saw, was an illusion.» He had been looking straight at Arayah with all four eyes when he had spoken. As if she would have more difficulty accepting this than any of the others!

But still… a mere illusion. It was hard to think that way when the blue fur, stalks, ears, face, the shoulders, chest and down to the base of his hooves and up to the root of his tail-blade, all of it was Aximili.

Except for that mouth. That obvious fact that at once revealed that this was no Andalite. Had been, perhaps, but not any more.

And at a second look, you found that the creature was two dimensional. No Andalite had ever been two dimensional.

Arayah knew why the One chose to appear this way, instead of just popping into existence as he usually did. He wanted to display his power, to intimidate her, frighten her. The entire show with the mouth, eyes, and the sickening green glow had one single message; _fear me_.

The One had numerous shapes. Numerous of what the Yeerks called the Taken, which they spoke of as some type of semi-gods. But he always used the shape of her Prince for their conversations.

"Let us start from the beginning," the One said. "I need your help."

«With what?»

"Not important. I need your eyes, female. I need your ears." He was almost whispering, using a tone very similar to Prince Aximili's; how his voice was unconsciously lowered, soft and reassuring, when he spoke to her privately and danger was near.

Arayah focused on the mouth. This was not Aximili.

"I just want you to open your mind for me, Andalite," the One continued, using the same low voice. But his was somehow sharper. A plea delivered in a commanding tone. "I just need to touch your mind. It will not hurt."

He came closer, one hand lifted – though still contained in his two dimensions – as if to reach out and grab her. Arayah took an involuntary step back. Her tail touched the door behind her as she did so.

Trapped.

«Why?» she repeated.

"Not important. Open your –"

«I will do nothing until you tell me why!»

A hesitation. The air sparkled green with his anger. His four eyes flashed and Arayah felt a shiver.

"Very well," he said finally. "I shall anyhow erase what has been said here from your memory. Why, Andalite? Because I want eyes on the Andalite planet. I want to expand my empire, conquer new species to add to my collection. I want you to be my eyes, Arayah-Althasa-Neferia."

Arayah would have taken another step back if she had not already been backed up against the door. Her name sounded like a curse when it came over those lips. Like her fate had just been sealed – and not pleasantly.

«Why me?» she managed.

"Because you are perfect for the job," he said, almost purring. "If you return home and claim to have escaped, no-one will doubt you. Why? Because any noble Andalite would help you escape at the cost of his own life, even though you yourself are a warrior. If they ask for your fellow warriors and you say they helped you out but lost their own freedom, no-one will question you. You have credibility. You can claim you owe your life to those four warriors still trapped here, and be believed."

He smiled. "Why you, Andalite? If any of your friends returns, they will be questioned; why did you leave your fellow warriors behind? And more importantly, Arayah… They will wonder, they will whisper behind his back; why did he not save the female instead of himself? He would be shamed. Disgraced. Shunned. And someone who is disgraced and shunned would be of little use to me."

Arayah was not planning to give this creature anything. What he did, he did for himself. Not for anyone else. She did not have any intentions of giving him the key to her home world.

The One's eyes shone brighter. "Arayah, listen to me; I could make you queen! I could make you empress… whatever you wish to be! I will send you home, unhurt, and… I shall grant anything you ask for."

She hesitated. «Anything?»

"Whatever you wish shall be yours," he promised.

«Whatever I wish?»

"Yes," the One confirmed eagerly.

«I wish my friends freed.»

"And sent home with you? Of course." A mouth-grin. Horrible.

But Arayah felt a tiny, minuscule bit of hope. Although it was nearly drowned in her other emotion; fear. She had a plan. Dangerous, but it was not less dangerous than remaining on the Blade ship. «All of them.»

A quizzical expression. On an Andalite's face. With a mouth. Two dimensional.

Not Andalite at all. Not any more.

Arayah lifted a hand and pointed at the being who called himself the One. «My Prince as well.»

He grew with his anger. Suddenly his stalks reached the roof, even though he stood hunched down, his shoulders were about as wide as the length of Arayah's tail, and his hooves were the size of her head. The green glow intensified and stung her eyes like needles.

"Every time, you ask the same thing!" he roared. "Every time you demand for the freedom of your friends, and at the last moment add your Prince!"

Arayah wished she could pull back. Her tail was cocked, but she knew it would be unable to help her.

"Your fellow warriors are useless to me. I can send them home. I can kill them, or let the Yeerks have them infested, if I chose to. They are irrelevant. But AXIMILI REMAINS WITH ME! Your Prince, my dear little warrior, is a part of ME. Which is where he shall be staying. I could not let him go if I wanted to. UNDERSTOOD?"

The room went dark again, slowly. The One appeared to be gone, but Arayah knew better than to breathe a sigh of relief. She could still feel his evil presence. And the shackles were not yet back on her arms and tail. She waited for him to speak again.

"You will agree, you know," he said. "eventually."

She turned her back to him, as if to leave the room – as if she could decide when the discussion would be over.

"It is only a matter of time," he continued. "You'll let me use your eyes."

«You are asking me to betray my People,» she said, turning back towards him. Partly to show she was not afraid – a lie, really – and partly because the door was locked.

"I am asking you to show them to me," the One corrected. "And, if necessary, lead them. Under my command."

«I took an oath when I became a warrior,» Arayah said, firmly, gathering strength from that memory. «Even before that; when I became an _aristh_. I swore to protect the People. With my life.»

The One continued without listening to her. "Your life isn't in danger. Just open your mind. Let me use your eyes."

«I repeat the oath in the morning ritual, every morning,» Arayah said. She had never really gotten used to the rituals that came with the life of a warrior, but for once she could feel what use they served; it was a powerful memory, knowing that the oath was firmly rooted in who she was, what she was. And no two dimensional being was going to uproot it. Not without a fight. «I will not break it.»

"Arayah, the oath will mean nothing if you are the leader of your people," the One said. "Open your mind to me!"

«No.»

The room, if possible, went even darker. He was really gone, now. But even gone, he frightened. Even with disappearing, he threatened. The shackles were back on her arms and tail, holding them in place so tightly it hurt. The door opened behind her, and the Yeerk guards motioned for her to come out. They only reluctantly entered the room.

She came back out as they asked, not wanting to stay in there any longer than she had to, and let them escort her back to the cell she shared with her friends.

On the way, they walked past a force field. On the other side, outside the ship, Taxxons crawled around, working feverishly on repairing the damage to the Blade ship. The story was that some cruiser-class ship had crashed into it and almost cut it in half. The enemy ship had been taken care of, and it was probably nearby, being repaired as well. The Blade ship had been saved down to the surface of this planet – whatever planet it was – by the Kelbrid that were the Yeerks' allies.

But what caught Arayah's eye was the sky above. It was a beautiful sight; so similar to her sky at home. She stopped, refusing to take another step, and admired it. A fresh stab of homesickness struck her. It felt like someone had stabbed her in the chest and now was twisting the tail-blade round in the wound.

"Move," said the guttural voice of a Hork-Bajir-Controller. The flat of a wrist blade slammed into her side and hands grabbed her arms to pull her on. But Arayah kept her stalks aimed on that patch of sky for as long as she could.

And already, what had been said between her and the One was gone from her memory.

- - -

Head of Council Lirem stared at the statistics on the hologramic screen for about a moment. The three Informers behind him watched carefully, nervously. They had not exactly volunteered for this… errand.

Informing the Head of Council about things like this tended to be unpleasant.

Lirem began shaking his head, slowly. «This cannot be accurate,» he said. «This… this isn't true.»

«I am afraid it is,» the bravest of the Informers said. «Six Dome ships out of action, one of them missing without a trace. In only three days. Six Dome ships, seventy-two cruiser-class warships and uncountable fighters.»

«If things continue at this rate our Fleet will be annihilated in a matter of months,» Lirem said. He was silent for a few seconds. «What do we know about the Kelbrid fleet?»

«Very fast fighters,» the Informers said. «Powerful weapons, and seemingly equipped with excellent scanners. You simply cannot sneak up on them – or lay a trap for them.»

«Size?»

«A little smaller than our own. Black, shaped like arrowheads.»

«And their ships?»

The Informer squirmed where he stood, shifting his weight to another set of hooves. «They only have fighters, Head of Council.»

«Nonsense!» Lirem snapped, his famous temper steaming up again. «HOW CAN A GROUP OF SMALL FIGHTERS TAKE DOWN _SIX DOME SHIPS_?!!!»

«They do not remain just fighters,» the second Informer said. «They combine and form ships in all scales and sizes. Built up like that, they somehow act like one ship. They are slower, less agile, but the weaponry is simply amazing!»

«We are supposed to find ways to destroy them, Informer, not marvel about them.»

The Informer blinked rapidly with all four eyes, bowed his stalks low and backed away to hide his embarrassment.

«Anything important to add?» Lirem asked.

«Head of Council…» the first spoke again, but then hesitated and glanced at his colleagues before continuing; «Even with the rearmament… even with the call for female _arisths_… our Fleet will be butchered. There are simply too many of the Kelbrid. They are just as numerous as the Yeerks ever were, even worse, and their fighters… their ships…»

«Are you saying we will lose this war?» Lirem asked calmly.

Another hesitation. A longer one. Then; «Yes.»

«'Yes'?» Lirem repeated, tail twitching, suddenly glaring at the three with his four, critical eyes. «'Yes', what? 'Yes, we will lose'? The Andalite Fleet does not lose, Informer, I will inform you myself on that one. Either we win, or we win. These Kelbrid are allies of the remaining Yeerks. We lose to them, and we lose to the Yeerks. I have no wish to see Yeerks rule this planet, and neither do I wish to see one rule me.

«None of you has a family to worry about, but I do, and so does almost every warrior from the simplest _aristh_ to the top War-Princes in Apex Level. And I know, I can feel it in my hooves, that not one of them will even consider the option of losing or surrendering as long as those families are under threat. May that threat be Kelbrid or Yeerks, it does not matter. The Andalite Fleet WILL come out victorious, if I so have to cut those Kelbrid apart one by one with my own tail-blade! IS THAT CLEAR?»

«Yes, Lirem,» three voices said meekly.

«Then we better see to it, don't we?»

«Yes, Lirem,» the same three voices said in the same tone.

Lirem sighed. His tail was up in attack, an unavoidable effect of his anger, and now he lowered it again. He shook his shoulders to get rid of the tension in them and flexed his stalks thoughtfully.

«Any ideas?» he said.

«Head of Council, the humans have offered their… support,» the first Informer said slowly. «It might be needed. The humans are, as we know, maybe inexperienced with intergalactic warfare. But they are fast learners, and quick at adapting to new situations, and they do not give up easily.»

«Also, they are numerous. They have the numbers we need,» the third Informer added. But then pointed out; «They lack a fleet.»

Lirem formed a stalk-eye smile. «That, Informers, is a minor problem. Call the Earth Council. Tell them we accept their support – of course not because we need it, but because we feel they have a right to fight the Yeerks and allies if they wish to.

«Moreover, we will be sending technicians and scientists and warrior to… _aid_… their building of a fleet. Of course we expect generous compensation… perhaps they will finally be willing to share the secret of the making of the cinnabon. I'm sure we and the Earth Council can come to some sort of agreement.»

«And save our own tails while we're at it,» the first Informer added.

«Bluntly spoken, yes,» Lirem agreed. «But that stays within private thought-speech. Understood?»

«Yes, Head of Council.»


	7. How the blind can see

**7 How the blind can see**

- - -

Tobias had demorphed to hawk and remorphed back to human because he had almost his two-hour limit. He was sitting on a chair that gave an impression of sloppiness. It was simply cut out of a slab of wood-like material. Rachel was still standing (still near the doorway she had come through), but she was the only one. The rest were sitting, like Tobias. She had directed Jeanne into what she called the "kitchen". It was just a room where she stored her "food".

And that was Kelbrid food. Food that still was "alive" when you ate it. Jeanne had, under Rachel's instruction, brought in some on a tray, accompanied by small bowls of water – Kelbrid had bowls, not glasses.

Rachel lifted a squirming piece of green-purple fluff – about the size of a peanut – up and held it in place with accustomed fingers. "This is _pata'oki_," she said. "I've never figured out if these things are plants or animals, but…" shrugging, she popped it into her mouth and began chewing. "It's an awful lot of fun to try chewing them."

The remaining humans in the room regarded the squirming _pata'oki_ with a lot of doubt. Marco was finally brave enough to pick one up, but it slithered out of his hand like an eel and he had to grab at it again.

"Nasty little things," he said. "Are they really alive?"

Rachel shook her head. "Not alive. Or… plant-alive. They're not aware. They just move, even after you pick them." She smiled again. "Picking them used to be a favourite habit of mine, before…" she stopped talking and made a gesture towards her eyes. "You see, they grow like fruit, on plants. But touch the plants and they'll jump up and try to run away. They're very fast." Maybe she realised no-one was that intent on actually eating, so she added; "Try one. I haven't had normal food in a long while, so I wouldn't know… but I think they taste like chicken."

"They say the same thing about snails, you know," Marco commented, watching the "food" in his hand. Then he dropped the thing into his mouth. Chewed. Made a face, but continued chewing the uncooperatively still-squirming _pata'oki_, and finally swallowed. "How long have you been eating these things?"

"Not just these," Rachel laughed. "Other things as well. _Kul'lj_, _ghy'yh_… lots of things. Some of it good, actually. Since I got here."

"How did you get here, by the way?" Jeanne wondered. She had put the tray down on a table. Tobias was watching the _pata'oki_, maybe comparing them to mice, maybe wondering if it was worth the trouble to eat one.

Rachel shrugged. "Long story."

"How did you survive?" Jake asked. "I thought that polar bear killed you."

"So did I," Rachel said. "I still think he did, actually. But then… I was suddenly in this part of the universe. Very much alive. In my own body – or an exact copy of it, except for the morphing part."

"How did you end up with these Kelbrid?" Santorelli said.

"Well, you all probably know what happened on the Blade ship," Rachel began. "I remember that polar bear killing me – that's kinda hard to forget. Next thing I know, I'm on some planet. In this body, unharmed. The Kelbrid found me, and took care of me. A group who called themselves the Chosen. I noticed very quickly that something was wrong with those types. I mean, they were aliens, but there's still only a certain amount of weird you can get. And when they were raided by this group we're with now, I made sure I was brought along.

"I learned most of my Kelbrid language here. And I learned what I had guessed about the Chosen; something's very wrong with those guys." She stopped speaking and made a dramatic pause.

"What's so wrong?" Marco asked finally, giving in to curiosity.

Rachel made a half-impatient gesture and continued talking, but did not really answer his question. "That was about three years ago, after living with the Chosen for half a year. Just after that, the Yeerks showed up. Suddenly they were best buds with the Chosen." She sighed, rubbing her forehead sadly.

"What's wrong with the Chosen?" Marco asked again.

"To others," Rachel said, almost looking straight at him – at least turning her face in the direction his voice came from. "They're known as the Touched. The maniacal followers of the One.

"_This_ group is more of a resistance. The anti-Yeerk, anti-Touched group. People who believe in that familiar, simple word with a million meanings; freedom. But it's only a small fraction of all the Kelbrid."

"How many Kelbrid are there?" Menderash asked. He had been, unavoidably, swallowing everything he heard about the Kelbrid like a computer fed information. And not doing much to hide it.

"I'm not sure…" Rachel said. "The Kelbrid are spread out to planets and moons all over their quadrant of space. All their colonies… no-one knows exactly how many there are. I don't think they've ever been counted. The resistance has this one, Cava'ara, but the Touched…" she shrugged. "At least a billion large colonies. Countless smaller ones. Any planet they've found that's able to hold life but lacks a sentient species. How many Touched? Billions. Billions of billions. I don't know. But they have some serious numbers on their side."

Menderash nodded grimly and turned to Jake. "I believe I am obliged to notify the War Council about this, Captain," he said. "this is vital information. If these Touched are allies of the Yeerks…"

"Menderash, Menderash, Menderash," Marco said, hand over his eyes as he shook his head slowly, face down. "If the Andalite War Council hasn't figured this out yet, they're not worth the name. They probably know."

Menderash looked uncertain.

"So, Jake, now you're 'Captain'?" Rachel said.

Jake sighed. "At least I got rid of the 'Prince'."

"One moment," Marco snapped. "I thought we were here to _find_ Ax."

"That's the problem."

"Do you have a ship?" Rachel wondered.

"_Had_," Tobias corrected. "A stolen Yeerk cruiser. Named after you." Rachel's blindly staring eyes shone with pride. "But Jake here decided to crash it into the Blade ship."

"He likes sending Rachels to their deaths," Marco grinned.

"This time, it was good, though," Tobias said. "Getting rid of Rachel the ship led us to the real Rachel."

"I knew I should have stayed with the ship," Marco muttered.

"Shut up, Marco." Rachel popped another _pata'oki_ into her mouth and began chewing. "So that's why Menderash went human," she said, rolling her eyes at herself. "Should have realised that earlier. Because you needed a pilot for your ship and there's still that treaty."

"You know about the treaty?" Menderash said.

"Guess why I'm still here?" Rachel smiled. "The Kelbrid flew me to the border but no further. Hey, my own fighter refused to fly further. Kelbrid craft, you know. Drove me mad."

"You've got your own fighter?" Jeanne said.

"Yes. Designed it myself and named it the _Hawk_."

Tobias's head jerked up from watching the _pata'oki_. Rachel smiled again.

"Favour repaid, it seems. But that treaty is part of the most basic programming. I can do a lot of things with my fighter, but I can't overwrite that. Not that I haven't tried. I spent a week trying to pass the border. Finally, Ka'an and the others had enough and dragged me back here."

Jake had taken on that calculating look again. Marco glanced at him with some worry. "Jake?" he said. "You haven't got some mad, suicidal, completely-out-of-the-question plan again, have you?"

"Of course not," Jake assured him. "This one is perfectly reasonable."

"That's what I was afraid of," Marco sighed.

Jake did like a lot of other people and ignored him. "Rachel? Would you be able to convince them to lend us a fighter?"

Rachel looked hurt. Then her face darkened. "You're not leaving me behind, are you?"

Jake was glad she couldn't see his face as that awkward it's-hard-to-explain-without-hurting-your-feelings expression appeared. "Rachel, you're not exactly in a state to fight."

"That's for me to determine," she snapped. "I'll lead you to the fighters. Show you around. But you need my help if you're getting one of them off this planet. And I'm not going to help you unless I can come with you."

"Rachel…" Jake began.

"Oh, shut up." She began walking towards the exit, motioning for them to follow. "This way. And – like it or not – I _am_ coming with you, Jake."

"No." Tobias flew up from his chair and grabbed her arm, in a manner that indicated that he could not decide whether he should be helping her or stopping her.

She broke free, eyes flashing, and pulled back. "I'm blind, Tobias, not helpless!" But she stopped walking. "I can still walk. By myself. This is my house, I can find the door. But by the way, maybe I should get Tom…"

Jake's face lit up. "Tom's here? Alive?"

"Not _that_ Tom," Rachel said and Jake looked downcast again. "He's my pet. I just named him after Tom. Figured that… oh, it doesn't matter."

"Xena's sentimental!" Marco cheered, grinning widely. "Oooh, alert the media!"

"He _was_ my cousin," Rachel said. "after all. If I killed you, Marco, I assure you; there'd be no sentimentality."

Marco's grin, if possible, widened even more.

Rachel couldn't see that, of course, but she probably knew anyway. She rolled her blindly staring eyes. And began calling for Tom.

A four-legged creature came out of one of the rooms. At first glance, it was similar to a dog.

But at once after that first impression you saw that this was no happy, do-goodish, cuddly dog. It had short, rough, golden-tan fur, golden eyes, and pointy, standing ears. Four long, sleek legs, clearly built for running. Fast and far.

But that's where the similarities ended. "Tom" was bigger than any dog, his back as high up as Jake's waist. His tail was long, muscular and ended in a scythe-blade, like on an Andalite, but it was carried behind him instead of above him. His spine, neck and back legs were lined with blades. He had claws like knives on each of the three toes on each large paw.

He generally did not look like the type of alien you would want to start a fight with.

"Beautiful, isn't he?" Rachel said, as Tom walked up to her side, cold eyes glaring at the six strangers with suspicion but – fortunately – doing nothing.

"He's certainly your type of pet," Marco agreed.

"The Kelbrid keep them as companions. Call them kii-raja."

"Which means?" Santorelli wondered.

"Literally, it means 'the one who chases'," Rachel told them. "These little sweeties used to chase and make easy meals out of Kelbrid… before they were tamed."

Menderash shook her head. "I have seen Kelbrid horns at work," he stated with typical Andalite one-mindedness. "I do not believe anything is…"

Rachel's eyes glittered, knowing what he was thinking, and she nodded. "They _are_."

"But those horns… are incredibly fast."

"Yes," Rachel agreed, now smiling. "They are. Kii-rajas are faster."

Menderash went a little pale. He probably didn't like the idea of anything being faster than his tail – it doubtlessly made him feel uneasy – and especially when he didn't even have his tail.

Rachel put a hand on Tom's head – that easily reached up to her chest – and stroked it thoughtfully, looking as if she was concentrating. "Let him take a look at you. I want to see what you look like."

Uncertain glances were exchanged.

"'See what we look like'?" Marco echoed. "Okay. That's a new one. I thought you were supposed to be blind."

"I am. But Tom's not." She paused, and grimaced. "Maybe I should explain."

"Maybe you should."

Rachel nodded. "The kii-raja are semi-sentient. To put it that way. They communicate in thought-speech – or just thought-pictures, really. I just trained Tom here to show me what he sees."

Rachel took hold around Tom's head and turned it until the giant creature was looking straight at Menderash. Turned again to Santorelli, Jeanne, Marco and Jake.

"You've grown up," she said when she was done. "even Marco. Although he hasn't grown much taller."

"You've grown up, too," Marco replied. "If we were on Earth, you'd have to duck for doorways."

"Very funny, Marco," Jeanne snapped. "But at least she's better off than you. Doorknobs have to bend down so you can reach them."

"That is, if they even notice he's there," Rachel added.

"You know what, Rachel?" Jeanne said, smiling. "I think we'll get along just fine…"

"Jake?" Marco wailed, glancing from Jeanne to Rachel and back again. "Tell them to stop it!"

"We have work to do," Menderash reminded the group.

Rachel nodded and began walking towards the door-hole. Tom kept at her side, staying just a step to her left. Using his eyes as her guide she managed to find her way to the door and felt for the edge to confirm where she was. It was slightly confusing, naturally, when your eyes are half a meter to your left.

"Come on," she said. "We have to find Ka'an. He's in charge of this colony – unofficially, but effectively. He's also in charge of the military part." She climbed nimbly outside, Tom following as if he was her shadow.

Tobias and Jeanne went after her, and Santorelli and Menderash were talking quietly as they neared the door-hole.

"This was unexpected," Marco said to Jake.

"What?"

"Meeting Rachel."

"Yes," Jake agreed. "It was." And laughed. "A real stroke of luck. She's exactly what we need: someone who knows the Kelbrid, the One, and this entire quadrant of space. Plus, she's got friends backing up with firepower."

- - -

«It is not up for discussion, Larynia!» Nemsar repeated for the fourth time. «You are being transferred to the _Daybreak_. Your opinion on the matter is irrelevant.»

«Nemsar –»

He swivelled around. Even his stalks stopped circling and focused on her. «This is not home, _aristh_. This is the _BladeSwipe_, an Andalite warship. You will address me in a proper manner!»

«Yes, Prince Nemsar,» she snapped, stalks briefly lowered. When she raised them they were steaming.

The _BladeSwipe_ was – finally, according to Larynia – heading towards Kelbrid territory. To battle. And Nemsar sent her away! The _Daybreak _wasa new, modern ship, very interesting and with powerful weapons, but it was doing some simple guard duty near the home world. And there was exactly one word to describe that; _boring_.

«I want to go with you!»

«You're not going to. It is dangerous out there.»

«That's why I want to go!»

He fixed her gaze in his own. «Larynia. Eight of ten ships sent to Kelbrid territory are destroyed or never heard from again. I'm not bringing my sister to such a place.»

«But you're going!»

Nemsar ignored that and continued. «A pilot will fly you and Estrid to the _Daybreak_ in less than an hour. The arrangements have already been made.»

«LESS THAN AN HOUR?!» Larynia echoed in a protesting voice. «You didn't even warn me about this!»

«I'm your Prince, _aristh_ Larynia, not your secretary. I do not need to ask you about anything.» He sighed. His stalks began circling again. «Go gather your things and tell Estrid to do the same. Meet me in docking station fifteen in thirty-nine minutes.»

«Yes, my Prince,» Larynia muttered, voice somehow managing to mock him even as her stalks were lowered. She twirled around, letting her tail swipe at the air, and trotted away, still steaming with irritation.

- - -

Docking station fifteen had room for twenty fighters. But it was almost deserted, and silence hung over the gleaming fighters where they stood waiting for their pilots and for battle.

Estrid and Larynia would normally have enjoyed the visit; _aristh_s (Estrid was, basically, treated like one) were not commonly without supervision in a docking station. But now the two gloomily walked towards the only fighter where anyone was – a certain _aristh_ more gloomy than her more reasonable friend. Two 'anyones' stood outside the fighter; Nemsar and a young, smiling pilot.

«This is Farlun,» Nemsar introduced the pilot, ignoring the killing looks his sister honoured him with. And then added, to Farlun; «You know your orders?»

«Yes, Prince Nemsar,» Farlun confirmed. He had a natural twinkle in his stalks. «Take the youngsters to the _Daybreak_, and return to the _BladeSwipe_. This will be one of my easiest assignments.»

«Obviously, pilot, you don't know me very well,» Larynia snapped.

«Be nice,» Nemsar ordered.

She raised her tail. «Why should I?»

Estrid rolled her stalks. She'd been on the _BladeSwipe_ for only two weeks, but she knew this version of Larynia very well. «Do as he says,» she advised. «You don't have to make it worse.»

«How could it get worse?» Larynia demanded, glaring towards her friend.

«Well, if you go on like this it certainly won't get better,» Estrid replied. Then she ignored Larynia and turned to Nemsar. «Thank you,» she said. «For letting me up into space.»

«Thank Larynia, not me,» Nemsar said. «She convinced me.»

Estrid nodded – a habit she didn't know she had – and, heaving up her small sac over her shoulder, walked towards the fighter.

«Just do me one favour,» Nemsar called after her. «Do not go and get yourself killed.»

Estrid smiled back at him with a stalk. «I'll do my best.»

«'Get yourself killed'?» Larynia repeated. «Easier said than done, if we're supposed to hang around the home world!»

«You know why I chose the _Daybreak_,» Nemsar sighed. «Not because of where it is stationed. Because that's where your friends are.»

«So instead of two of us being bored, all three will be? Thanks, Nemsar, that's really appreciated.»

«Prince Nemsar,» Nemsar corrected sternly.

Larynia ignored that.

«Someone's in an especially bad mood today,» Farlun commented suddenly, laughing softly.

«Bad mood?» Nemsar replied, eyebrows raised. «She's right; you don't know her.»

Larynia glared at Farlun, who laughed, eyes twinkling. «My wife's like that sometimes,» he said. «She usually gets over it.» Then he got serious; eyes suddenly sad, face grim. «Last time, it was about me accepting to be posted in Kelbrid territory. That is an argument she will not get over easily. Afraid I won't be coming home again. But even if I did, by some miracle, return, she would probably kill me.»

Larynia glared at him. But quickly turned and glared at Nemsar. Glared some extra, as if to make a point out of it. But then her eyes softened, her tail sank down slowly, and she asked; «When will you come back?»

«At the end of the war, probably,» Nemsar said lowly. «If I survive that long. The frontier is a very hazardous place.»

She pawed the floor with a worried front hoof. «Don't you dare get killed,» she warned. (That was her way of saying «take care of yourself».)

Nemsar smiled. «You, too,» he replied. «And keep an eye on Estrid; she's not a warrior, after all.»

Larynia arched her tail up. Her brother did the same and they touched blades. Then she followed Farlun towards the fighter. Being who she was, she didn't turn around once.

Nemsar sighed as the fighter's door closed, and left docking station fifteen with an empty feeling in his heart, which he unsuccessfully tried to fill out with relief. His sister might be annoying, she might at (a lot of) times have the universe's worst temper, but he'd still miss her.

- - -

No Animorphs.

The rumours had spread quickly. The fact was hard to conceal, although the governments and agencies of Earth – and even the Earth Council itself – tried their best to keep things down.

But you could read about it anywhere. In newspapers, tabloids, on the internet… and gossip was unavoidable.

The news were that both Jake and Marco had gone missing. All of a sudden. Marco's disappearance was the most obvious, since he had been the one to keep "out-there", on TV and in the public. But there was a clear connection to Jake's disappearance – at the exact same time.

Andalite tourists heard the news and admitted in thought-speech whispers, stalks jerking nervously back and forth, that there was talk about their Prince Aximili being missing, too – although the War Council furiously denied it. He was out at the front, the Head of Council claimed, with the rest of the Fleet.

Rachel was dead, everyone knew that. Tobias had been missing for years, although the talk about him and what could have happened to him blossomed up again.

The only remaining Animorph was Cassie. But she never left the Hork-Bajir; the poachers were still after Hork-Bajir skin and blades. Even though the guard around their territory had tripled or even quadrupled, there were still poachers around. The only time Cassie's words reached out to the world was when she ferociously published pleas and orders and even threats to the world to make sure it stopped. She might as well have been gone, too, some said, for as much good as she did to anyone outside that alien territory.

The Animorphs were, in essence, all gone. All missing.

There was a group of people who actually were happy about that fact. A group of people, if they really could be called that, that rejoiced silently when no news were heard from any of the missing heroes. Who cheered when yet another killing made Cassie more and more tied to guard her alien friends.

One of them was sitting on a park bench, looking out over the giant hole where the Yeerk pool had been. The crater had been kept unaltered, as a monument of sorts. He was thinking about how foolish humanity was. How inattentive the Animorphs had been. How stupid the Andalites still were.

Of course, the Yeerks hadn't been happy with only one pool. The Yeerks had developed a plan for slow infiltration; tactfulness. That an inconsiderate leader like Visser One had ruined it all didn't change the fact that, yes, of course the Yeerks had spread out. Of course there was another pool. A small one, perhaps, but big enough.

He smiled to himself. Looked down at his watch. He didn't want to miss his plane and be late; he needed to be back at that other pool in a day and a half.


	8. When the Touched attack

**8 When the Touched attack**

- - -

"What did he say?" Jake wondered.

"In his exact words; 'are you kidding?'," Rachel replied.

Ka'an had turned away and was examining the damaged engine of a fighter – possibly his own fighter. He and a dozen other pilots had just returned from an encounter with a Touched patrol that had come too close to Cava'ara for comfort.

"Ask again," Jake ordered.

Rachel rolled her eyes. And said in Kelbrid language, using a voice that dwindled and soared just like a Kelbrid voice; "Can they borrow the fighters?"

Ka'an turned back towards them. Looked at Jake, critically, and let his gaze sweep over the five. "Can they fly them?"

Rachel translated Jake's reply; "We learn quickly."

"Yes," Ka'an muttered. "But quickly enough? I doubt it. It takes years to learn to fly a fighter well enough for battle."

"It took me three months," Rachel reminded him.

Ka'an's spiked tail twitched. "It did," he agreed. "But I must ask this, Rachel; do your friends even have that long?"

Rachel translated again, and Jake shook his head. "Waiting won't make things better," he said.

Rachel got an idea and said in Kelbrid; "Could you issue pilots with the fighters?"

"What do you need the fighters for?" Ka'an asked in a low voice. He had taken out a tool – unrecognisable to any but other Kelbrid and possibly Rachel – and was with accustomed hands opening a well-concealed hatch on the engine.

"To save another friend," Rachel said. "I told you about the Animorphs. You know who Ax is. He's in trouble. We're planning to get him out."

Ka'an shook his head, sighed in a universal gesture of regret, and then looked up to meet Jake's gaze. "We cannot enter Andalite space," he said.

"Ax is in Kelbrid space," Rachel informed him. Ka'an looked up with sharp eyes. His black eyes were split over the middle by a white pupil, and together with the nasy scar that stretched form his forehead down to his jaw they made his entire face look constantly harsh, but this expression was definitely sharper than usual. "He's being held prisoner, Ka'an," Rachel said. "so it doesn't count. Not really. I know him well enough to be sure that he wouldn't violate any treaty if he had a choice."

Ka'an thought that over and nodded. Menderash translated all Rachel had said in quick whispers.

Tobias said: «He was brought to this part of space with force, by his enemies.»

"Yeerks," Ka'an spat, already knowing who were the Andalites' enemies as well as how they worked. His horns whipped through the air, the giant claws on his velociraptor feet clicked against the floor. "Will it hurt the Yeerks if he is freed?"

Rachel translated and Jake smiled. "It will hurt their pride," he said. "_Badly_. And aid their main enemies; the Andalites. As well as us Animorphs and our people, humans."

Rachel repeated the same in Kelbrid language. And added; "And it will help you defeat the Touched. The Andalites battle the Yeerks; and their allies. If you let your horns whip to help them, they will do the same for you."

"No guarantees of that," Marco muttered below his breath. Menderash glared at him with burning eyes.

But Ka'an nodded thoughtfully. "Where is your friend?"

"The One has him," Jake said when Rachel again had translated.

But Rachel told Ka'an; "On the Blade ship."

Menderash, with his translating chip, noticed the error and raised his eyebrows.

"I shall issue two fighters," Ka'an promised. "with pilots. Use them as you see fit, Rachel, but bring your _Hawk_ as well." The word 'hawk' sounded unfamiliar in his mouth. "The pilots and fighters will be ready in the morning. You can leave then or later. I wish you good hunting."

Rachel thanked him, called for Tom who had been resting nearby, and led the group of humans (and one hawk) away.

"Why did you do that?" Menderash demanded suddenly. "Why did you refrain from telling him about Captain Aximili?"

"_What_ did she do?" Jake snapped, stopping. The others stopped in a group around him. Jake looked questioningly at Rachel and Menderash glared openly.

"She faked the translation," Menderash said. "When you said 'the One has him', she translated it into 'on the Blade ship'."

"Yes, I did," Rachel agreed. Tom, being very sensitive, had detected the sudden change of moods and had lowered his head, ears back, upper lip beginning to curl to reveal a row of glistening, sharp teeth.

"I'm sure she had a reason," Marco began, eyes narrowed. Menderash huffed, arms crossed over his chest.

Rachel nodded. "And a good one."

"Let's hear it," Santorelli said.

Rachel grabbed a hold of one of Tom's ears to make sure he kept calm. "I was about to tell you. Ka'an knows what every other Kelbrid knows about the One; once he's got you trapped, there's no way out. If I'd told him about Ax he'd have shook his head and said this; 'there is no hope for the Taken'."

"That's no reason to…" Menderash began.

"You don't get it," Rachel continued. "He'd have refused to issue the fighters if he believed we were heading on a suicide mission with an impossible purpose. A suicide mission, fine, but it has to be _possible_. He's got too few fighters to waste even one."

She was met by silence. For a moment she almost feared she had gone deaf as well as blind.

«Do you consider this assignment a waste of fighters?» Tobias asked softly. He was perched on Jeanne's shoulder.

"Of course not," Rachel replied. "Ax means more than that. A lot more. But Ka'an is already fighting an impossible battle; which means he has to be very careful about where his fighters and pilots go. Jake, you at least should understand that." Jake nodded, once, and Rachel saw that through Tom's eyes. Her voice was lowered. "And he'd have had a point if he'd said there was no hope."

Silence again. If Tom hadn't been at her side, constantly sending pictures to her mind of what was happening, she'd have missed the downhearted looks on her friends' faces. And the blankness in Menderash's eyes, on a face already expressionless.

"I'm sorry," Rachel whispered. "The Taken, they… we know of a good number who met that fate. Now Ax, too. No-one really knows what happens, because none have returned to tell the story." She sighed. Shivered. "We don't even know if…"

"If it's possible," Marco finished. Nodded grimly.

"It's never been done," Rachel said helplessly, shrugging. "Never even been attempted."

"So we should give up without a fight?" Jeanne growled. "Just like that? Travel across the universe for over half a year, find Aximili, meet you, and then give up because you claim it's no use?"

"Doesn't sound like the Xena we knew," Marco commented.

"I never said to give up," Rachel said fiercely. "I said it hasn't been done. But a lot of things we did as Animorphs hadn't been done. I'm saying it's hopeless. A lot of things we did were hopeless." She looked up with her blindly staring eyes, and grinned in that typical Rachel-way. "I'm willing to try if you are."

- - -

The _Daybreak_ didn't look like much for the universe. It looked like a javelin grown fat in the back end. There was also a slight bulge in the front; the battle bridge. And the entire ship was, unavoidably, blue.

The well-needed grass fields were inside the small dome in the fat back end, but two thirds of it was hidden by the ship's hull – the remaining third peeked out at the rear, giving Andalites inside the sense of space and freedom they needed.

But all in all, the _Daybreak_ was to most eyes a beautiful craft; therefore her name, as her Captain proudly used to say.

Her Captain, Kandion-Elragoth-Sirenalis, had been in the Fleet for as long as anyone could remember. Some could still recall the days before his time, which was also before Head of Council Lirem's, if they thought hard, but he was the type of Andalite who gave the impression of 'been there, done that'.

Some would call him old fashioned. Maybe he was. He still believed strongly in some of the older ways. And often made his opinion on the matter clear.

But not many would back down his help in battle. Old fashioned or not, War-Prince Kandion knew his way around a fighter, a battle bridge, or a battlefield.

He was waiting when the door of the newly arrived fighter opened its door and the latest addition to his crew came out. Two females, sent by a certain Prince Nemsar that Kandion knew only remotely; a scientist and an _aristh_. A disorderly such.

«I am Captain Kandion,» he said curtly when they came closer. He had promised to meet them personally, for some reason that for the moment had slipped his mind. Usually, he would have done no such thing. «This is the _Daybreak_. Which of you is _aristh_ Larynia and who is the scientist?»

«I am Larynia,» Larynia said coolly. «The _aristh_.»

«The _aristh_ who was kicked out of the Academy,» Kandion snapped. «Know that I will tolerate no more disobedience from you than anyone else.»

Larynia's eyes flashed. So the girl had spirit. A good thing. Spirit, properly channelled, was a good thing. But in a female, it was rarely easy to channel. The problem lay in understanding where to push, where to poke. With a male it was easy; poke here, push there, and they shot true like shredder beams. But males thought in comprehendable lines. Females thought in tangled webs - if at all.

«Then you must be the scientist, Estrid-Corill-Darrath,» Kandion said to Estrid and bowed his stalks barely noticeably. «You shall have access to the ship's laboratories, of course. But I am afraid you will have to live in plain _aristh_'s quarters.»

«That will do nicely, Captain,» Estrid assured him, and looked truly thankful.

Kandion turned to Larynia again. «_Aristh_, I agreed to having you here as a favour to Prince Nemsar – I can understand an Andalite who tries to keep his family safe. Although I do not understand why, then, you were allowed in the Fleet to begin with. In any case, while aboard my ship, you are an _aristh_, and you will conduct yourself thereafter.»

Larynia was silent. Estrid clopped a back hoof against the floor.

«Of course, Captain,» Larynia said.

«Your two friends have caused enough trouble as it is,» he said. «In the future, if the three of you do not behave properly, you will have to be separated.»

«Yes, Captain,» Larynia agreed in a silky voice.

Kandion looked her over, not at all pleased by her ingratiating tone of voice, but then made a gesture for them to follow, spun around and led them out of the docking station. The fighter and its pilot needed to be on their way back, and for that the docking station needed to be cleared.

- - -

«These friends,» Estrid said privately as they followed the captain. «Nemsar mentioned them too. Who are they?»

«Minalea-Silinan-Alareim and Olana-Soiru-Jinala,» Larynia said, grinning with her stalk-eyes. «With them around, life here will certainly have a certain degree of… interest.»

«I don't like the sound of that,» Estrid said.

«You don't have to,» Larynia replied indifferently. «Don't worry. They're not that bad. Olana is a technological genius, but she doesn't cause much trouble – until convinced otherwise. Minalea is a prankster and a rebel from stalks to blade. What she rebels against isn't important; as long as she rebels against something, she's happy.»

«Not the right person to join the military.»

«You kidding? She's perfect. People – especially Princes and Captains, I've noticed – need someone to question them now and then. To bring their heads back down from the clouds.»

«That's a new one,» Estrid muttered.

Larynia's stalk-grin widened. «Yes. But you have to admit; it's a good one.»

- - -

Tobias ruffled his wings again and peered down into the darkness. He was sitting on a wooden beam near the roof of Rachel's cylindrical home. The main room was straight below him. From where he sat he could, since there was a three decimetre gap between the walls and the roof (not enough for him to see into the rooms), see how the rest of the house had been split into four other rooms. They formed a sort of crescent around the main room. A bathroom in one end of the crescent, and the kitchen in the other. The two middle rooms were bedrooms.

One of the bedrooms had been Rachel's all along, and it was where Rachel and Jeanne slept. The other had stood empty, but now Tobias's sensitive ears picked up Marco's snoring from inside it. Menderash, Jake and Santorelli were in the same room. A bit crowded, probably, but after sleeping and living on a stolen Yeerk cruiser for half a year in too-small quarters no-one was about to complain.

A sound came from the first bedroom – Rachel and Jeanne's. A hand pushed away the rug that hung over the door, brushing it over Tom's back – he was sleeping in the doorway. Tobias had a feeling the kii-raja opened an eye to watch him every time he moved. He also had a feeling that Tom saw him as possible lunch, not a possible friend.

Then the hand grabbed at the doorframe and Rachel stepped out. She lifted her feet high enough to avoid Tom and the blades along his spine, so she probably knew he was there.

She also probably knew how he lifted his head to see where she was going, and if she wanted him to follow, because she made a gesture with her hand and mumbled "Stay, Tom," before continuing.

She made her way towards the kitchen and in through the doorway. Tom had obediently rested his head back down but was still watching her. The rug hung back over his back, but he ignored it.

Tobias heard how she searched out a bowl, filled it with water from a barrel she had and lifted it to her lips and drank. He heard how she put the empty bowl back on the kitchen counter and returned to the main room.

She stopped in the middle and looked a bit lost.

«Four paces straight ahead,» Tobias offered.

Rachel flinched a bit at his sudden thought but then smiled. "You're awake?"

«There's a beautiful girl walking past right below my perch. How could I be asleep?»

"You can't sleep, either, can you?" Rachel guessed.

«Bingo,» Tobias replied dryly. «No, I can't sleep. Don't ask me why.»

There was a short silence as neither of them knew what to say. Marco's snoring suddenly felt very loud. Tom didn't move, but his golden eyes gleamed as he watched the two in the main room.

"Tobias," Rachel said then in a low voice. "What did you do when I… died?"

Tobias thought the question over. «I fled,» he admitted finally. «I flew away. And tried to hide.»

"From what?"

«From everything. From the Animorphs, from the world, from what had happened to you… from myself. Didn't work very well, though.»

"I guess it wouldn't," Rachel whispered.

«I was only fooling myself. I could hide in the darkest corners of my mind, creep down into the deepest hole on the planet, but my memories and sorrow would be right there hiding with me.» A joyless thought-laugh. «I had to learn to live with it. And I think I did. But I never forgave Jake. Still haven't.»

"You should. He didn't force me to go; I chose to."

«He _asked_ you,» Tobias said bitterly. «He put the idea in your head. He knew you'd go. He knew… he knew you wouldn't return.»

"So did I," Rachel sighed. "Look, we could discuss this back and forth for days. Which I honestly wouldn't mind. I need to talk to a human again after being around these Kelbrid for so long – nothing bad to them, but they're just not _humans_. And I need to talk to _you_. Come down here and morph human."

«What for?» he asked, but was already halfway down to the floor and beginning the morph.

"Because I'm asking you to," Rachel replied, smiling. "Let's get away from this tree. Somewhere we can be alone. I know a beautiful place by the lake."

«'Beautiful'?» he echoed, quickly morphing to his human self. «You've seen it?»

She nodded. "Before I was blinded." She reached out an arm. Tobias took it. "It's a good place for thinking – or talking. And we have a lot to talk about."

"And Tom?" Tobias said questioningly.

"Tom _stays_," Rachel said, stressing the word 'stays'. Tom's ears flickered forwards to hear the command. Rachel patted Tobias's arm and leaned her head against his shoulder. "You can be my eyes for now, Tobias. Let's go before someone else wakes up."

- - -

"_Rakani_!" a voice roared.

Marco sat up as if someone had hit him and was wide awake at once. He scanned the room, wondered for a moment where he was, and remembered the events of the previous days when he saw Ka'an standing in the doorway.

Ka'an's horns twitched. "_Rakani_!" he repeated. "_Gerush di'a_."

"Wake up," Menderash muttered, translating even as he turned away, covered his ears and curled together for more sleep. "Get up."

Jake was also awake. It was hard to avoid when an alien was roaring at you in a very determined manner. "Why?" Jake asked.

Menderash didn't respond. Until Santorelli grabbed his shoulder, turned him around and took a hold of his hair to yank him up. "Your Captain needs you to translate!" he barked.

Menderash, as always grumpy and sleepy in the morning, muttered something, rubbed his scalp and finally said; «Why?»

Ka'an spoke again. A long, complicated sentence, during which Menderash's eyes began closing again.

Santorelli raised a hand and the former Andalite's eyes jerked open. "The Touched are coming. They probably intend to raid us. We need to follow Ka'an here to somewhere safe unless we like the idea of being killed or captured. Most likely captured; since the Yeerks showed up, they like the idea of taking live prisoners more and more."

"Was that all?" Jake asked.

"Yes, Captain. Can I go back to sleep now?"

"No."

Menderash sighed heavily, but Ka'an said something else.

"He wonders where Rachel and the bird are," Menderash said.

"They're gone?" Santorelli snapped.

"Probably. Otherwise he would have no reason to ask, would he?" Menderash replied grumpily.

"Somebody check the other room," Jake ordered. "And wake up Jeanne."

"I'll go," Marco offered at once. He leaped up and left the room. Found his way to the other bedroom, pulled the rug out of the way, raised his foot to take a step though the doorway… and heard a loud, ferocious growl.

He froze, one foot raised, one hand on the doorframe.

Tom kept growling, raising his head and glaring up at Marco.

"Nice doggy," Marco tried in a weak voice. He began moving away. Tom leapt up and snarled, still in the doorway – and not looking like he'd let anyone pass by.

"Ehm, Jake?" Marco called, freezing in place again, not daring any movements when the kii-raja so disapproved of them. "We might have a problem."

Jake came out into the main room, followed by Santorelli, Ka'an and finally a Menderash who was still rubbing his eyes. The general response to Marco's situation was laughter.

"It's not funny," Marco complained.

Ka'an smiled, and shook his head at some personal joke. "Tom:_ yaysh_," he commanded.

Tom's golden eyes turned towards the Kelbrid, evaluating, maybe wondering if it was worth the trouble to obey.

"_Yaysh_," Ka'an repeated sternly.

The kii-raja's tail swept up and he bared his teeth. But then he walked past Marco (growling on the way), elegantly leaped out through the door hole and disappeared out of sight at a loping run. Marco breathed a sigh of relief.

"What is the definition of _yaysh_?" he wondered.

"It's a word that means 'eye'," Menderash said. "What he meant by it, I do not know." So he asked in thought-speech; «What did you tell him to do?»

"_Yaysh_," Ka'an said in Kelbrid. "It tells him to find Rachel. Be her eyes. The only command he will listen to from me, or anyone else, except for Rachel. Its only function is to get him out of our way, since he has a tendency to guard whatever place he is on."

Menderash translated, just as Jeanne came out of the room, looking like she had been awake for some time. "What did you do that for?" she demanded, smiling. "I was about to tell him what a good kii-raja he was to keep Marco away." Her eyes twinkled with amusement. "Menderash? Ask Ka'an where I could get one of those."

Jake rolled his eyes. "We don't have time," he said. "Ka'an says the Touched are coming."

"The Touched?" Jeanne repeated, the smile gone.

Jake nodded.

Ka'an spoke again. Menderash translated; "They raid Cava'ara a few times now and then. Try to blast away the resistance. But Ka'an says we can hide with the Kelbrid – down under the trees. We have to leave _now_."

"What about Tobias?" Jeanne questioned. She had already noticed they were missing. "And Rachel?"

Menderash said the same in thought-speech, and then translated Ka'an's reply; "If they are anywhere near any tree, the Kelbrid there will know Rachel and make sure they reach safety. If they are far away from the trees, the Touched will not know they are there and thus ignore them. And as soon as Tom finds her she can manage very well –"

The house suddenly shook – the entire tree was swaying. Being caught of guard, most of them fell to the floor and Jeanne stumbled backwards into the wall. The light furniture tumbled around and a chair rolled past Santorelli's head with a millimetre to spare.

Ka'an – the only one still standing – told them to follow him and then left the house hurriedly. No-one hesitated to do so as another quake shook the house.

The sky was dark, morning had not yet arrived, and the three moons peeked out behind the masses of black arrowhead-shaped fighters. Ka'an glanced up at them with worried eyes, and then scanned around, being relieved to find the streets already empty.

"_Phas_," he barked, purposefully setting off down a street.

"Come," Menderash translated – unnecessarily. Some words are obvious.

The group followed Ka'an through the streets. The fighters above were firing ferociously down at the tree village.

But the blue energy beams (what the Kelbrid referred to as _kata rajch_, but would later be known by the remainder of the galaxy as kataj) were met by the tree's own attack. When the beam was about ten meters above their heads, a pole would shoot out of the tree's top – from the street itself – to meet it halfway. The protecting pole was incinerated, but the tree and the village remained unharmed.

This method of defence – unavoidably – _fascinated_ Menderash. In fact, it fascinated him so much, that at a total of five times Jeanne and Santorelli had to grab his arms to pull him onwards when he stopped to watch it.

Ka'an finally halted at the edge of the treebowl. He looked at them, one at the time. And again spoke.

Menderash's eyes went a bit wide. When he translated, the rest of the group understood why. "We need to take the quickest way down," he announced, glancing out over the edge, down into the darkness far below. "This is it." He pointed.

"Hold on now!" Marco protested, raising both hands as if in defence. "You're saying we need to jump? As in J-U-M-P? As in, leap out into the air and fall to the ground? As in, bungy jumping without a rope? Skydiving with no parachute?"

Menderash nodded grimly.

"Jake? Please tell me this is nothing worse than Andalite-boy here losing it."

Ka'an was watching them. Not patiently. He said something else; and Menderash told the group; "Make sure you don't land so you hurt yourselves."

"Maybe a Kelbrid can survived a hundred meter drop," Jake snapped. "Humans can't. Tell him that."

"A five hundred and sixty-nine meter drop," Menderash corrected.

"I did so not need to hear that," Marco whined.

"Rachel has jumped here," Ka'an revealed in Kelbrid, and Menderash translated. "And survived. At the time, I considered humans to be brave."

"No," disagreed Marco, shaking his head. "You see, Rachel is a nutcase. A lunatic. Xena, warrior princess, on a first-name basis with every single employee in Stupid-things-to-do Amusement Park for Over-Brave Psychos. Their logo is 'We'll get you thrilled, and we'll get you killed'."

"If Rachel's lived through it, so can we," Jeanne reasoned.

"I wouldn't be so sure if I were you," Marco muttered.

"Stop complaining," Menderash said, annoyed.

Marco had prepared a reply, but Jake was quicker and told the former Andalite; "Ask him what we'll be landing on."

Menderash nodded, did so, and listened to Ka'an's answer. Then he said; "A large, Cava'aran plant. They call it _inpa'ali_. It will break our fall and make sure we do not get badly hurt."

"Not 'badly' hurt," Marco said. "Which means, we'll just get 'hurt'. Gee, what a relief."

Ka'an said more. Menderash listened, and then added; "He warns against landing on feet and hands… we should land on our backs, head leaned up against our chests. And one more thing; we'll bounce."

"I'm not jumping," Marco stated stubbornly.

"Then don't," Jeanne snorted. "Stay here. With the Touched." She pointed back into the village. Fighters had begun descending, preparing to land.

Marco went just a tiny bit paler.

"Captain, what are your orders?" Menderash asked.

Jake sighed. "How about morphing birds and flying down – those of us who can?"

"We'll have plenty of time to morph on the way down," Santorelli laughed.

Menderash looked grim. Jeanne placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'll jump with you," she offered, comforting, forgetting the Andalite's strong sense of pride.

Menderash broke free, straightening up haughtily. "No use risking an extra life," he snapped. "If a blind human girl can jump, so can an Andalite warrior."

"Rachel isn't just any girl, though," Marco said lowly.

Menderash disagreed. "She is –"

"_Tamni_!" Ka'an cried suddenly, hate bringing his voice up to shrill notes that stung the ears of the group.

"Touched," Menderash translated , hands rubbing his ears.

"_Kro'y_," Ka'an commanded, horns raised and whipping, claws snapping at the ground. "_Arfar_."

"Jump. Now."

Milliseconds later there were flashes of green to their right. Jake turned to get a closer look, and found two penetrating sets of green-pupiled eyes moving steadily towards them. Out of the corner of his eye he could more shining Touched eyes, to his left, and behind them. The only way out was the five hundred sixty-nine meter drop.

"That settles it," Jake decided. "Do as Ka'an says. Jump!"

Santorelli and Menderash were the quickest to follow the order, as they stood closest to the edge. Santorelli threw himself out and dove down, unhesitantly, as if he had never done anything else in his life. The darkness below quickly swallowed him. Menderash was close behind him, but tumbling alarmingly and not at all that gracefully.

"You coming?" Jake asked Ka'an.

The scar-faced Kelbrid had turned to face his enemies with an expression that could be nothing less than suicidal determination. His white pupils shone with hate; almost as brightly as the green pupils of the Touched.

"You're actually planning to jump?" Marco asked Jeanne, stepping into her path when she neared the edge.

"If you are afraid, little Marco, I'll hold your hand," she offered with a laugh – but a nervous laugh. Then she took a deep breath, made her way past him, took a step out into the open air and was gone.

Ka'an was furiously shouting – probably insults – at the Touched. Their faces were close enough to be seen now; they looked just like any other Kelbrid, except for the constant, chill-bringing shining of their green pupils. And all of them were smiling broadly, their ears only twitching instead of turning this way and that like they usually did.

And they had reasons to smile; they were more numerous, they had the upper hand, and they were seeing a golden opportunity to capture the well-known leader of the Kelbrid resistance – plus two of the humans the One had sent them for.


	9. About a harmless prank note on Kelbrid ...

Note on Kelbrid pronunciation;  
_The Kelbird names in this story are strangely spelt, but it actually does serve some purpose. For example, "Ka'an" would be pronounced "Kah-an", adding a silent "h" between the double vowels. That makes the first vowel short and the second one long. Another name, "JaLa'an" would be split into two words at the second capitol. First "Ja", and then "Lah-an". It's pretty much the same pattern for the rest of them.  
As noticed, Kelbrid have a fondness for double vowels. It might have something to do with the shapes of their throats and vocal cords, which makes thier voices dwindle, often splitting one sound into two. (And therefore, it would be very hard for a human to learn to speak Kelbrid, although Rachel has done a good job at it!)_

- - -

**9 About a harmless prank**

- - -

Jake realized that he had to do something. Quickly. Ka'an seemed to have lost himself in his wrath. Someone needed to pull him out of it, before things got out of hand.

"Ka'an, _phas_!" he snapped, remembering the word for 'come'.

No response. A noise almost like a growl was coming from Ka'an, and he was stepping forwards to meet his enemies.

Jake acted quickly. He grabbed Ka'an's tail, got Marco to help, and together they yanked the Kelbrid off his feet.

Ka'an fell, but just as soon flew up again, agile as a cat. His horns whipped forwards towards Jake and Marco – very capable of wrapping around their throats and snapping their necks before they even had time to notice – but then, when Ka'an saw who had yanked him, the horns stopped in mid-air, quivering.

"_Phas_," Jake repeated sternly, pointing at the edge.

"Yeah," Marco agreed, nodding warily. "Do that. Live to fight another day."

Ka'an did not understand them. His ears twitched back and forth, his horns whipped and his claws kept clicking. At first, Jake thought he would ignore them and their advice. But then the Kelbrid came to his senses and gave a short nod, leapt casually out over the edge – leapt casually at least TEN METERS out over the edge – and fell down after the others.

Before the Touched closed in, Jake and Marco followed, hearing the cries of the Touched and feeling the wind of horns that passed only centimetres behind them.

- - -

Aristh Carali-Sarthantir-Malar's tail-blade could easily cut his teacher's head right open. Not that he'd ever do such a thing. It was just a comforting though when his teacher, Sarjil, was in his most annoyed, critical, and disapproving mood. 

Yes. _Could_.

Except for the small fact that Sarjil had a much more experienced, efficient, and speedy tail. He would have Carali chopped up into a hundred pieces before Carali's strike reached its goal.

As Carali again was told off for his slow, clumsy – just slightly clumsy, mind you – strike he hoped that the only one to witness the disastrous show was Aralgo-Karfur-Emonrili, his friend – more or less, they were only friends because there was no-one else for Carali to be friends with, but with Aralgo you never knew exactly where you had him. And he comforted himself with the thought that if he really had to, his tail could probably perform a good strike. A decent one, at the least.

Sarjil was of another opinion.

«You couldn't hit a sleeping Gedd with a swipe like that!» the old warrior growled. «How many times do I have to tell you? Follow through with your _entire_ tail! ENTIRE! As in _all_ of it! You're only using half, you nitwit _irfach_!»

Irfach! The word made Carali wish he had teeth, so he could grit them. But Sarjil didn't like cocky retorting, so Carali didn't reply. Although it took some effort to keep quiet. Sarjil might be good, but he wasn't so good that he could come and – 

«Now be off! After you, I need to comfort myself teaching some student who actually knows the difference between stalks and tails.»

Carali bowed his stalks, swiveled around and… stopped. Aralgo was by the wall, grinning (his lesson, which had went just about as bad, was before Carali's) and surely waiting to tell some stupid joke he had just made up. But in the opening out to the corridor – no door to the training room – stood the three remaining _aristh_s.

There were, at the time, five _aristh_s on the _Daybreak_. Himself, Aralgo, and three females; Minalea, Olana and Larynia. The last had arrived only three days earlier.

Carali and Aralgo were not exactly on best possible terms with the two first. But two against two had been a fair deal. Two against three was a little worse. Especially since the third, Larynia, had demonstrated for Sarjil exactly how skilled she was with her tail. And Sarjil had given a long, detailed explanation about how Carali and Aralgo compared better to _djabalas_ than to warriors next to her.

For some mysterious reason, Sarjil had forgotten to mention anything about Olana or Minalea, both of whom were utterly hopeless.

But now there they were, all three, probably having a good laugh at his expense.

There was nothing to do except to hold his head and tail high and march out with what dignity remained.

Aralgo followed, of course, swaggering a bit. He stopped in the doorway (Carali watched it all with a stalk) and preformed a mocking bow.

«Ladies,» he said in a singing voice, eyes twinkling mischievously. «If you ever find yourself in need, you only have to call. My tail swipes at your word.»

«Look, Minalea! How cute. It thinks itself all grown up,» one of them replied with a smile. It was the new one, Larynia. Pretty in her own way, but all too much temper. «I'm sorry, I don't remember your name.»

«Oh, don't worry Larynia, it isn't important,» Minalea agreed. «Wasn't it something on _A_? _Arfath_? Arasath? _Aristh_... no, wait. _Aristh_, that's me, isn't it?» Her grin was as wide as a Dome ship. «Great! I don't have to listen when people call me 'lady' anymore!»

«I find it difficult to believe you ever were one,» Carali told her, and brushed past them. He was in no mood for a discussion.

«I find it difficult to believe the Fleet took you in,» Aralgo went on - Aralgo rarely passed up a banter. «What can a bad lady make, if not a bad _aristh_? What sort of _aristh_ can a bad lady make, if not a bad _aristh_? For that matter, what sort of _aristh_ can a _good_ lady make, if not a bad one? Females have no business here.»

«Then why don't you pack your make up and go home?» Larynia wondered, while her eyes grew hard.

Aralgo was smart enough to see that it was time for a quick retreat. He left the area and caught up with Carali – but he was still grinning. «They definitely like me,» he said.

Carali rolled his stalks.

«You don't believe me?» Aralgo said, sighing loudly, almost prancing his way along the corridor.

«Oh, I believe,» Carali replied. «I believe very strongly that they'd like to cut you open.»

«Of course. But it's a start.»

«You know you're a nutcase, Aralgo?» Carali wondered.

«Oh yeah,» Aralgo laughed, rearing up a bit but then ceased his prancing and (finally) returning to a normal way of walking. «A nutcase? I am a genuine lunatic. I have a hopeless case of insanity. But it has been proved that it takes a lot of intelligence to be crazy.»

«Then do the universe and yourself a huge favour; use that intelligence for something else than chasing female _aristh_s.»

Aralgo's expression was suddenly shrewd. «That, friend Carali, I have already done. I have thought up a small payback for our humiliation at class two days ago. And for that event in the hallway, yesterday, when they "accidentally" made you spill those chemicals that we had to clean up.»

«Which almost putrefied our hands and confined us to the sick bay for hours!» Carali remembered in a growl. «Now then. What kind of awful revenge have you planned?»

«You'll find out soon enough,» Aralgo grinned smugly.

- - -

Tobias again felt the curse of morphing. When two hours had almost passed, he was forced to – like it or not – stop whatever he was doing and demorph.

Rachel sat down by the foot of a spiral-shaped tree, pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.

«Cold?» Tobias guessed.

"Chilly," she replied.

«I thought I'd cured that,» Tobias laughed, finishing the morph and fluttering up to a branch. «But if –»

"Hush!" she said sharply, tilting her head to the side as if listening.

«What?» he wondered, surprised, sharpening his own very sensitive hawk hearing.

"Just be quiet."

Tobias did as he was told, straining his ears to pick up any sound. But there was only the constant rustling of the wind blowing gently through the strange, alien forest, making the spiral trees shiver and making their cube-shaped leaves shake and rattle, like the sound of a dozen rattlesnakes. Rachel sat still for a few moments but then nodded to herself and stood up.

"Tom's coming," she announced.

«How could you hear him? I heard nothing,» Tobias admitted. «I know blind people are supposed to have sharper ears than average, but this…»

"He sent a message ahead, as usual," Rachel explained. "Thought-pictures. Your thought-speech made it a bit fuzzy. He's not used to competition, and I'm not used to listening to thoughts from more than one source – not any longer." She made a wry smile. "I forgot about him. He's probably been terrorizing anyone who's tried to pass."

Tobias smiled mentally. «Poor Marco.»

"Poor Marco?" Rachel echoed. "Why?"

«Jeanne was the only one on the _Rachel_ – our ship, you know – with her own quarters. Marco conveniently 'forgot' that now and then.»

"He did, did he?" Rachel grinned.

«Jeanne caught him zooming about her quarters in fly morph. When she was about to take a shower.»

"He'd have tasted a newspaper if it'd been me," Rachel declared.

«We were short on newspapers. But Jeanne did even better. She caught him in a glass jar, let him sit there for almost two hours, and then – here's the good part; handed him in to Jake.» Tobias thought-laughed briefly at the memory. «Marco still shudders when someone mentions 'fly'.»

"You mean he actually learned his lesson?"

«Maybe. He didn't do it again.»

"Amazing. But for the record; if he ever needs a reminder, I'm sure I can come up with something. Or Tom can."

Just then, as if appearing when named, Tom came out from a shadow and walked up to Rachel's side, on paws so silent that even Tobias hardly heard his footfall. The big kii-raja pressed his cold nose into Rachel's hand to let her know where he was.

"Maybe we should head back…" Rachel began, but stopped, receiving a string of thought-pictures from Tom. "Tobias. Look up. Towards the village. What do you see?"

Tobias peered up but the densely located trees kept him from seeing much. He couldn't see as much as a glimpse of the treevillage from where he was perched, so he lifted up into the air for a better look.

"Don't fly too high," Rachel warned. "The air gets thin quickly on Cava'ara. There's less atmosphere here than back home. Less gravity, too, for that part."

Tobias was – at least the hawk brain was – noticing that quickly. He pumped his wings for altitude but had to work hard for every centimetre. That the night air was cold and there were no updrafts didn't make things much better. But he soon saw the village – quite clearly. It was lit up by the streaks and flashes of blue that set fire to the sky.

Tobias had seen enough space-battles to know one at sight.

«I see flashes of blue,» he reported. «The sky's as bright as if it was day.»

"Kelbrid fighters firing. A battle," Rachel concluded.

«Touched?»

"Has to be. So Tom's proved useful again," Rachel muttered, as Tobias began descending back to his perch, having seen all he needed to see.

«Jeanne, Marco, Santorelli, Menderash and Jake and still in the village,» he said.

"Ka'an will help them," Rachel reasoned. "Or another Kelbrid will. In fact, a Kelbrid has already been in the house, or Tom wouldn't be here. I told him to stay; someone must have told him _yaysh_."

«'_Yaysh_'?»

"Means 'eye'. Tells him to go and find me. Gets him out of their way."

«Okay,» Tobias said and landed back on his perch – a hopefully safe distance above Tom, whose golden eyes were watching him like he himself might have watched a mouse. «You know this planet. So what do we do?»

Rachel sat back down, and at a gesture from her hand Tom lay down next to her, head on her lap. But not even then – not even when Rachel brought a hand down to stroke his ears – did he manage to look even remotely cuddly. Perhaps only a little less intimidating.

"We wait," she said. "The Touched won't be looking for us here, so we're out of danger. We'll return when things have calmed down."

Tobias looked down at her. A look meant to be a questioning glance, but ended up as his eternal hawk glare. That statement did not sound like something Rachel would have said. It sounded almost… sensible.

«The others might be in trouble. And you say we should stay here and do nothing?»

"The Kelbrid will take care of them. I'm more worried about the crops; sometimes the Touched burn them all, and we'll have to go hungry till next season. Besides, we can do nothing. The Touched like taking prisoners, which they land to do, and if the Kelbrid can't stop them, we can't either. Everyone will be down in the shelters by now, and showing up this late will get us where the Touched are – outside the shelters trying to break in. And unless you're feeling a need for a long, painful death in a torture chamber, you do not willingly put yourself among a few hundred bloodthirsty Touched."

«Doesn't sound like the Rachel I knew.»

"I might have changed." Rachel shrugged. "Being blind makes me see things in another perspective. Or maybe it comes from getting killed."

«What perspective?»

"The 'keep alive' perspective."

«Just wait until Marco hears this one,» Tobias laughed. «He'll bug you about it for years.»

"Not for years," Rachel disagreed.

«And why not?»

"Who says he'll live that long?"

- - -

Olana's hands were almost trembling with excitement when she stepped out of the dropshaft and onto the bridge. The bridge was usually an _aristh_-free area. But Olana had gained access thanks to her unusual understanding of technology. One of the fighter pilots had given her permission – a "recommendation" – to visit the bridge and see how the entire ship was piloted.

She knew that none of the other _aristh_s had been to the bridge, except for Aralgo earlier that day – on some type of errand, he claimed. He had swelled at least two sizes with pride when he described the place – Minalea had overheard him talking to Carali.

Olana did not stand around for long. She swiveled her stalks around and quickly found Lantafar, the pilot. She walked up to him to report her presence, but he only told her to look around freely and enjoy the visit.

She had seen a Dome ship's bridge, of course, but this was different. The _Daybreak_'s systems were newer, the consoles were neater, and – supposedly – it was all easier to use and more efficient. And everything was up-to-date and modern, and for once the Fleet had hired a decent stylist so the place did not look like things had been stuffed in without any consideration to order or appeal.

She tried to keep out of the way as she looked around, trying to take everything in at once – trying to keep her main eyes from shining like on a child with a new hologram emitter.

There was another thing about the _Daybreak_'s bridge that was different. There was a large patch of grass in the back, that allowed pilots to feed properly without having to leave the bridge, making it easier for them to return to work quickly if they were needed.

Olana trotted back to it to see what types of grass it held. Aralgo had talked a lot about that, too. He rambled on for a long time how unfair it was that the _aristh_s' section did not have anything like it.

She stopped at the edge and looked down. Counted the types, and suddenly felt hungry. She lifted a hoof forwards… then something caught her eye. There was grass on the patch, obviously, but…

She folded her front legs and bent down to pick the small, oval-shaped blue leaf up. It was about the size of a thumbnail, not that remarkable… she recognized it at once. Even though she never had been any good at plants and herbs.

_Tarfat_ leaves. It was an intoxicant that caused temporary dizziness, slowed reflexes, and made it very hard to focus. Used often as a painkiller. Not harmful in itself, not in small amounts, but if the pilots or the captain… they were the ones on the ship that needed to stay clear in the head and focused at all times.

She got back up and pulled back with a jerk.

The captain jumped nimbly out of her way. «What are you doing, _aristh_?» he asked. Not especially sharply - but his voice was a tail blade at the best of times.

She spun around and bowed both stalks and tail low. «Nothing, captain,» she said, forgetting the leaf she held in a tightly closed fist. Rumour said that the captain was in a bad mood that day; and then it was as unwise to disturb him as it would have been to disturb the notorious Head of Council.

Captain Kandion walked up closer to the grass patch, looked down at it with his main eyes, one stalk circling, one watching her suspiciously. «I assure you, _aristh_, there are no hidden computers in the grass.»

«Yes, captain,» she agreed, hoping he would dismiss her. At once. Or sooner.

«So why did you bend down to examine it?» He was scanning the grass. «Did you happen to see anything of interest?» Then his four eyes snapped towards it. «FO Thalus! TO Ranmili!»

The two came immediately. Kandion pointed down into the grass. Thalus glanced down, and when he had seen what he needed to see he looked back up, without even as much as a change of expression. He almost looked bored; nothing unsettled Thalus. Ranmili's face turned into a frown and he bent down, as Olana had. Lifted up a small, blue leaf. He and Kandion recognized it quicker than Olana had – but not as quickly as Thalus.

«_Tarfat_!» Ranmili barked. His eyes turned to Olana, steaming. «Did you place it there, _aristh_ Olana?»

«No, tactical officer,» Olana whispered, wishing she could pull together and shrink.

«Do not lie to me!» the TO roared. He was almost purple in the face with anger. His tail was cocked. «Why else look so closely at the grass? You have seen grass before!»

«I… I…» she actually did have something to say, but nothing came out.

«Answer the TO!» captain Kandion snapped.

A good number of the remaining pilots – the ones that were not focused on the ship – now turned to see what was going on. Lantafar had come closer, and now politely asked the captain why he was angered.

«Your recommendation was unwise, pilot,» Thalus said lowly, as Ranmili showed the leaf. «This was found in the grass.»

Lantafar's surprised face turned stony as he looked at Olana. «Did you place _tarfat_ in the grass on the bridge?» he asked, voice as calm as ever. Lantafar was one of those Andalites who would become angry on the inside, but never display it for the outside world – not in his voice. No warning at all before he exploded.

«I didn't,» Olana managed. «I'd… I'd never…»

Lantafar's steady gaze was almost worse than the tactical officer's sharp glare, or the captain's hard, evaluating stare.

«Then what is in your hand?» Kandion asked.

Olana flinched. Kept her hand clenched.

«Open your hand, _aristh_ Olana,» Lantafar ordered.

Olana hesitated, but then did as she was told. Opened her hand and held out the leaf, saying; «I found it on the grass.»

Lantafar sighed. Thalus's expression was unreadable, and Kandion only showed a wrinkled forehead. They left it to Ranmili to be angry; he was, by far, best suited for the job.

Ranmili somehow evaded exploding, but it was close. His nostrils flared as he breathed. His tail twitched behind him. «Captain, I believe this is a matter of the ship's security, as much as one of a misbehaving _aristh_,» he grated. «Thus, I will leave it to you.»

«Very well,» growled the captain, face dark. «We will consider this… event. Thoroughly. Until then, _aristh_, you are to remain in your quarters. And prepare for your departure.»

«Departure?!» Olana protested loudly, not stopping her eyes from going wide. Even a few of the pilots seemed taken aback.

Kandion's tail swiped at air to bring silence. But he still waited until he spoke, in a low, quivering voice. «This may seem like a harmless prank to you, _aristh_, but it endangers the safety of this ship. I cannot allow that. My honour, _aristh_, lives or dies with my ship. Not to mention my crew!»

«Captain Kandion, I didn't…»

«SILENCE!» he thundered - Olana backed away. «I will not see this ship unnecessarily endangered!»

Olana did not dare object when the Captain used that voice.

Lantafar had taken the leaf out of her hand and was watching it thoughtfully. He was ignoring Olana, almost flagrantly, but not arrogantly. She was only relieved, being under enough angry glares from the top officers and pilots of the _Daybreak_.

Kandion's piercing gaze turned back to Olana and again she felt like shrinking away would not necessarily be a bad thing. «Before you leave, female; I know this was not your idea. It is not your way of thinking. Who planned this? _Aristh_ Minalea? Or was it _aristh_ Larynia?»

«Neither,» Olana said. «I didn't do this. We didn't do this.»

«So you've told me,» Kandion reminded her. «But until this is cleared up, they will have to be separated too. I know a few good ships with crews perfectly capable of teaching them proper conduct. As well as for you…» he sighed, maybe with true feeling, maybe not. «You could have become an excellent pilot. Or a technician. But now… I will consider it further, but it seems you will have to be sent home. The Fleet cannot tolerate mischief of this level.»

«Captain…» Olana began, but Kandion was not listening.

«Escort the _aristh_ to her room!» he told a warrior. «Lock the door and make sure she does not sneak out.»

- - -

The warrior led Olana away. Lantafar looked up, but his mind was still deep in thoughts.

«What are you thinking, pilot?» the Captain asked, as the _aristh_ disappeared down a dropshaft.

Lantafar held up the leaf. «The same thing TO Thalus is thinking, I believe.»

Thalus looked up at his name. They exchanged a glance. «These leaves are fresh,» Lantafar said.

Thalus' expression flickered to surprise, but then smiled. «Not yet dry,» he agreed.

«Well?» Kandion said.

«The _aristh_ could impossibly have done this,» Lantafar said.

Thalus agreed again, flicking his tail to the side. «Correct. What is your theory, before I tell you mine?»

«Where would she have gotten the _tarfat_?» Lantafar said. «The only fresh _tarfat_ on the ship is in the sick bay. _Aristh_ Olana has not been there for days – and _tarfat_ leaves dry out quickly. Neither has _aristh_ Minalea. And, finally, _aristh_ Larynia has not been there at all.»

«Exactly my point,» Thalus said. «Tell them to let her out again. We shall have to figure out who played this prank later, but it will not be necessary to send that certain _aristh_ home.»

«I was not going to,» Kandion sighed. «The Fleet does not give up on _aristh_s that easily. But away? Yes. All of them will still be sent away…»

- - -

A few hours after Tom's arrival Rachel judged it safe to return to the village. Tom walked as usual on her left side, and Tobias rode on her shoulder most of the way.

Then he lifted his wings and rose to the sky, saying «Wait here» to Rachel. Rachel felt his talons leave her shoulder, and Tom flashed her a thought-picture of Tobias disappearing upwards. She stood motionless, near a normal-sized but spiral-shaped tree, with her kii-raja standing next to her.

When he did not detect any signs of danger Tobias gave the all-clear and swooped back down. Rachel had – despite his order – begun walking and when he found her again she was already far from where he had left her.

They quickly returned to the big tree. At the base, Kelbrid were rushing back and forth, some disappearing up the stem while just as many were coming down.

Rachel purposefully led the way to the ladder. Tobias morphed human – the prospect of flying that high in Cava'ara's thin air didn't exactly thrill him. He briefly wondered how she was intending to get Tom up – and how he had come down, for that matter – when suddenly a Kelbrid shouted for Rachel and she stopped.

"_Cer y'yhan_!" the Kelbrid called, and Rachel turned around, searching for the source of his voice. She replied something in the musical Kelbrid language, voice falling and rising like ripples on the surface of a lake. For about three or four minutes the two discussed the matter, Tobias listening but understanding nothing, but then the Kelbrid stopped speaking and his right hand slapped at his left shoulder.

"_Cer y'yhan_," he said again, and ran off.

"What was that about?" Tobias asked.

"For once, we've taken a prisoner," Rachel replied. "Usually the Touched do that. Lead me to the ladder, Tobias."

Only then did Tobias realize that Tom was gone. Rachel's arm was held out, and he took it gently to do as he was asked.

"They consulted you for that?" he said. "Why you? Why not Ka'an?"

"Ka'an gets… overeager. He hates the Touched badly enough to treat our prisoners as badly as the Touched treats theirs." She shrugged. "We do our best to keep them secret."

Tobias didn't ask why, but Rachel continued anyway; "You've seen the scar on his face. He got that from the Touched. From his mother, to be exact."

"His mother?!"

Rachel nodded grimly, as Tobias held her hand out to find the ladder. "Long story. Made short; when Ka'an was young, he refused to let the One touch his mind. Refused to become one of the Touched. So the One ordered his mother to kill him – to avoid him putting ideas in others' heads – and she obeyed. Or tried to.

"Ka'an cut her throat to stop her and escaped in her fighter."

"He did?" Tobias said, repulsed, feeling that he didn't like Ka'an so much any more. "Cold-blooded."

"Not as bad as you might think. His mom didn't want to kill him, of course, but she had no choice. She was probably ordering him to get away at any price at the same time she was trying to rip him apart. Ka'an did what he had to. To survive. Of course, it leaves scars in someone's head to kill their own mom. Ka'an handles it by blaming the One, and the Touched."

"He shouldn't have done it, then," Tobias reasoned, shaking his head as he began climbing.

"Tobias. Let's make another example. You're a Touched. You have no choice but follow the One's orders – to the word. And he orders you to do something horrible. Let's say… he tells you to blow up… something that's very dear to you…"

"You."

"Me," Rachel agreed, a smile flickering across her face. "Now if someone blew up you first, what would you feel?"

"I'd be dead. I wouldn't feel much. But I'd be glad you were still in one piece."

"Would you be mad at the person who blew you up?"

"Probably not. I'd be thankful."

Rachel nodded, pleased. "I know it doesn't justify anything, but… now maybe you understand, at least."

Tobias did not respond, but he did not need to. They continued their climb up the ladder, that was just as long and dull as it had been during their last climb. But halfway up Tobias spoke again; "What does it mean? That word the Kelbrid called you. _Kerian_."

"What?"

"_Kerian_. Something like that."

Rachel was silent, not at first understanding what he was talking about. Then she laughed. "Oh. _Cer y'yhan_. It began as a joke, really. It means 'Master of Horns'. A title given to warrior-officers. Like an Andalite Prince. But I'm not a Kelbrid, and I don't have horns… a joke." She thought for a few seconds. "As well as a sign of respect."

"Kelbrid are very accepting, aren't there?" Tobias mused. "Taking you in like a part of the family. Letting you join their society. Even the ranks in their military."

Rachel shrugged – something that was not easy at the same time she was climbing the ladder. "Kelbrid are warriors. Every last adult among them is a warrior. From horns to claws. They give respect where respect is earned, they pay back friendship with friendship, and put those who are fit for a job in that job. Very simple, really. Effective. But accepting? No. I wouldn't put it that way. Not at all."


	10. Why refusal was impossible

**10 Why refusal was impossible**

- - -

Again the shackles made themselves known as the Hork-Bajir-Controller tugged sharply at the leash.

Arayah had no choice but to follow, staggering along behind the Controller, out on the grass. For some reason she could not even begin to understand the Yeerks were bothering with feeding their prisoner Andalites outside – a major security breach – instead of bringing the grass in to them, and their dark little cell on the Blade Ship.

Out to grass. Fresh air. And a beautiful sky that reminded Arayah of her home sky.

Wonderful.

Another tug at the leash. Arayah followed, the grass crushed and digested under her hooves. The grass on the planet was a bit bitter, and that she was – practically – forced to feed made the bitterness blossom in her mind as well. Not so wonderful, she thought, as the Hork-Bajir again pulled at the leash. But no choice.

No choice?

Of course there was a choice. Standing orders were to escape without consideration to whoever was left behind. Escape and warn the Fleet.

At least those were her orders. Rafatal – who was, from leader qualities if not for him being the nearest thing to an officer they had, in charge when their Prince was gone – had given them to her in private. But that did not matter; surely the others had the same instructions.

The next time the Hork-Bajir tugged at that hated leash Arayah rebelled. She tugged right back, even though it pained her neck. Then spun around, aimed, and fired off her back hooves right into his chest. She sincerely hoped that would break a few important internal organs – such as lungs, heart, or in the worst case only ribs; she was not so sure how Hork-Bajir looked on the inside – and with a last pull broke free.

With the leash flying behind her she ran towards freedom. Away from the Blade ship; the only direction she could think of.

Cries of alarm followed her, as well as human-Controllers, Taxxons and Hork-Bajir-Controllers. But none could keep pace with a desperate, fleeing Andalite, she thought triumphantly. She could outrun them all.

Then a dracon shot past and she realized that there was one thing she could not outrun. But she was in luck, for…

"Hold your fire!" someone roared in Galard, in a slightly sarcastic tone. "The One wants the Andalites in one piece."

Triumph welled up inside her and she sped up. She almost begun believing her sudden, unplanned escape might actually work, when two Kelbrid joined the chase. The Kelbrid, she knew, were not very fast to start with, and picked up speed slowly, but once they were running flat out they could run just as fast – if not faster – than an Andalite.

Then there were the horns. Anything faster than an Andalite's tail made the Andalite uneasy – not that they would ever admit it. Arayah had – like most females – a very fast strike, but she could not even begin to compete with Kelbrid horns.

Before she knew what was happening a set of horns had wrapped around her back legs, pulling them back, causing her to fall forwards. She landed flat on her face, her weak arms still tied up behind her back and unable to stop it.

Very awkward, was all she had time to think before more horns caught hold of her front legs as well and she was being pulled back towards the horns' owners. 

Kelbrid physiology certainly included strong backs, necks, and heads, since the horns had to be attached to something very firmly to be able to drag an entire Andalite.

Arayah's stalks twisted to look at them, and to her dismay she noticed that her favourite guard – the only Kelbrid who treated her more or less like a living creature – was not among them. He was easy to recognize, with his single eye and one of his wrist blades grown slightly crooked.

The other Kelbrid dragged her all the way back to the ship without giving her a chance to get up, and by the time they arrived her side was sore and bleeding. The Yeerks who took over guarding her when the Kelbrid withdrew their horns kicked at her for her to get up, while the Kelbrid shouted at them about being careless. She caught something about "needs a proper beating".

The Yeerk guards – the Hork-Bajir she had kicked not included, he still lay where he had fallen, motionless – got her, limping, back into the ship after a short struggle. They muttered angrily amongst themselves. "Should be allowed to infest" and "the Kelbrid are right, for once" were favourite comments. Arayah was dismayed by yet another failed escape attempt and gloomily followed them, not paying much attention to the world around her.

Suddenly the One appeared. All movements in the hall ceased instantly, and Arayah snapped back to reality. The Controllers fell to their knees and bowed so deeply that their foreheads touched the floor. It was… almost shameful.

"Leave us," ordered the One, fixating Arayah with his gaze.

They scrambled to their feet and tripped over one another and themselves in their eagerness to obey. Arayah remained where she was, trembling, fighting herself between standing firm to face him or turning to flee. The shackles were gone, again, but she hardly noticed.

The One watched her. "What am I going to do with you, Andalite?" he said finally.

«Let me go,» Arayah suggested.

A cold laugh, "No. not until I get what I want." He was in his true form now; a half-robot, half-biological being that never could be exactly defined. Just when you thought you had finally gotten it right, an extra arm would appear, or the feet turned to hooves, or the face switched shape. As if the form could not decide what form to take.

Then he shone green and took Prince Aximili's form. This time, normal size – and he did not switch size with emotions as he usually did. And, partly to her horror, Arayah found that her Prince appeared in all three dimensions. Without the mad, green glow in his eyes, and without the horrible mouth. He looked just… normal.

«I need your help,» Aximili's voice said, again lowered and soft. «I need your help, Arayah-Althasa-Neferia.»

Not Aximili, she reminded herself, but the usual firm little voice saying that seemed to fade like a shadow. 

«Why?» she asked, stopping herself from adding "my Prince."

A smile. The being that was NOT Aximili took a step closer. When Arayah did not move, he took another step.

«Unimportant,» he said. Thinking for a moment, he added; «I have decided to change my approach.» His eyes shone green, but just as quickly as it had appeared the green glow died. «You will no longer forget these discussions, Andalite. You will realize that I have nothing to hide from you. As you _can_ hide nothing from me.»

Arayah cocked her tail and glared defiantly with all four eyes up into his face, which was only decimeters from her own. «Nothing to hide? Then answer my question.» She swept past him and trotted off down the corridor.

«Stop.»

She did, feeling a wave of rage flow from him but then be quenched by a rare burst of self-control. She froze in place as if she had been stunned. Waited until the One had joined her; stood still until he spoke.

«I need your eyes, Arayah,»he said. He smiled Aximili's smile with his main eyes; his black-pupilled, perfectly normal main eyes. «See? That is why. I have nothing to hide. I need to touch your mind, so that I can use your eyes. It will not hurt. I promise.»

«No,» Arayah managed.

His eyes flashed green with sudden anger. The form he had taken shimmered back to his two dimensions, for just a moment, as if it was hard for him to hold three. When it had stabilized in three again he twirled around with a sharp «follow me».

Arayah found herself rushing after him when he led the way through the ship's corridors. Controllers and Kelbrid alike fled when they saw him coming, and those that were not quick enough threw themselves to the floor at his feet, shaking. He ignored them all.

«I know you, female,» the One spat. «I know what you want. You want three things. I can give you all but one.» He spun to face her. «In exchange for one, small favour.» He turned away again and stepped into a new corridor and continued. Doors opened as if by magic before them to let him through. Arayah sped after, before the doors closed again with loud bangs.

«You want your freedom. I can give you that,» he promised as they sped through yet another doorway. «You want your friends freed. That, too, I can grant. You probably need a ship in which to escape, even though you have not thought that far yourself yet. I shall arrange that as well.»

He stopped and looked at a door that had not yet opened. With a sudden insight Arayah realized it was the door to her own cell. The cell she shared with the four other prisoner Andalites.

«You long for one more thing,» he said. «You wish to see your Prince freed. That, I cannot do. Your Prince is part of me. I did not trap him; he trapped himself. And when trapped, his fate was sealed. I could not let him go if I wanted to. Do you understand?»

He had kept his voice low while he talked. Low and convincing. Arayah nodded. «I understand.»

A quick smile. Aximili's fingers – no, the One's fingers – pressed against her cheek, and then his face turned grave. «You know what will happen, what I will grant, if you let me use your eyes. Now I will show you the consequences if you refuse.»

The door to the cell turned transparent. Arayah's eyes widened in horror.

- - -

Olana jerked out of an uneasy sleep when she heard the door to her quarters being opened. Her eyes snapped open and she breathed a sigh of relief. It was only Larynia and Minalea.

And Estrid.

Estrid was the oldest of the group. And the most responsible. Olana was a close second, but while Olana let Minalea and Larynia make up mischief after mischief and drag her into it, Estrid dug her hoofs into the ground with a firm «no».

«How are you?» Larynia asked worriedly.

«Once I got past the claustrophobia, it is not that bad,» Olana replied. Then wrinkled her forehead. «The door was locked. How did… no, wait, that's a stupid question.»

Minalea grinned. «No door has proved to be my match yet,» she said. «This one barely took me a moment.»

Estrid rolled her stalks, not approving, but admitting that Minalea's 'skills' had their uses. She turned to Olana. «We heard what happened. Are they really sending you off the ship?»

«Yes,» Olana said sadly, tail slouching.

«Understandable,» Larynia said. «That was a prank way out of line. Unfortunately the wrong person got blamed.»

«Or we're looking at a totally new version of Olana,» Minalea laughed. No-one laughed with her, so she did something unusual; grew serious. «Probably Aralgo and Carali set this up.»

«'Probably'?» Larynia echoed in a growl. «Definitely. The way they were going on about that grass! And they are going to pay for this one…»

«They'll pay,» Minalea agreed, face dark. «Badly. They might play pranks on you and me, Larynia, but if they know their own good they'll leave our little Olana out of it.»

«Minalea!» Olana protested.

«Be quiet, Olana,» Larynia said. «No offense. But Minalea's right. This… means war.»

«And I suppose you are all perfectly innocent yourselves,» Estrid sighed, looking from one to the next.

«Carali pushed me into a dropshaft!» Minalea snarled.

«Not that bad,» Estrid commented.

«It was on the bottom deck. And TO Ranmili was on his way down.» She glared at nothing in particular at the memory, tail-blade twitching. «Try explaining to an angered tactical officer why you step into a _DROPSHAFT_ on the bottom deck at the same time he's coming down.»

«Ouch,» Larynia said. «When?»

«Just before you arrived,» Olana said. «Then there was that time Carali and Aralgo were supposed to be greasing the hull of Captain Kandion's personal cruiser. Guess who got that grease in their fur?»

«And guess who got blamed for it?» Minalea added.

Estrid shook her head. «Don't you see it?» she said. «These pranks. They're just getting worse.»

«They started it,» Minalea muttered.

«Is that so? How?»

«Do I have to remember _everything_?!»

Estrid rolled her stalks.

«Too late to argue about that,» Olana sighed. «They won.»

Minalea grinned. «That's probably what they think, too. Until they try to open the doors to their quarters.»

Larynia grinned as broadly as Minalea, but Olana's eyes went wide. «You locked them in?»

«Yep,» Minalea confirmed. «But from the outside the door doesn't appear locked. Before someone realizes what has happened, all our teachers will be frustrated about them not showing up for class.»

«How does that help us?» Olana asked. «I'll be sent home. To an _alshiir_-abusing mom and a dad in prison. You'll both be sent to different ships. And Estrid…»

«Probably wherever Larynia goes,» Estrid muttered darkly.

«And that's a bad thing?» Larynia asked, eyebrows raised.

«So they've won,» Olana repeated.

Estrid thought for a moment. «Not yet,» she said finally. «I think I shall have a talk with Captain Kandion about your little… personal war. There are a lot of people on this ship – mostly pilots – who are willing to put in a good word for you, Olana. I am sure the Captain will be reasonable.»

«Yeah, about as much as the Head of Council,» Minalea muttered.

But Olana looked hopeful. «Really?»

«I can try. Especially since I have a few things to point out… things that prove your innocence.»

«That would be perfect, Estrid!» Larynia exclaimed.

«Do not thank me yet; facing the Captain does not exactly thrill me. And I have one condition; no more pranks.»

«No more pranks,» Olana agreed at once.

Minalea and Larynia exchanged a stalk-glance.

«I mean it,» Estrid said. «This has gone too far already.»

Larynia shrugged her consent, but how long it would last no-one knew. Probably until someone made her angry.

«Minalea?» Olana said softly.

Minalea rolled her stalks. «Fine.» But the promise would soon be forgotten.

«Then it's settled,» Larynia decided. «Close and lock the door, Minalea, before someone realizes we have been here. Let's sneak back to our own quarters.»

They said goodnight to Olana and locked the door, leaving it as they had found it. Estrid's quarters were just opposite of Olana's, so she stopped there and said goodnight. Minalea and Larynia continued past a lot of empty quarters on their way to their own, in the end of the corridor. They passed Carali's and Aralgo's on the way. But there Larynia stopped.

«No more pranks,» she said, pointing at one of the locked doors.

Minalea's face was all innocent. «That does not count.»

«It _was_ before we promised to stop,» Larynia agreed, thoughtfully, head leaned to the side.

«_Long_ before,» Minalea said solemnly, four eyes twinkling.

They smiled mischievously, happy with the excuse, and continued to their quarters for some well-needed sleep.

- - -

Arayah and the One looked through the suddenly transparent door to the Andalites' cell, Arayah with quickly widening eyes and the One with an almost bored expression.

Inside the cell, Rafatal was lying on his side on the floor. His eyes were rolled into the back of his head, his hooves and stalks and tail jerking uncontrollably. His breath came in short gasps. Even from where she stood, Arayah saw that he had a high fever; his blue fur was dull and wet with sweat.

And there were no shackles; he was no longer a threat.

Then suddenly the door was once again made of metal, and when Arayah looked away from it she noticed that the One he had returned to his true shape.

"He has been poisoned," he explained. "Just after you left for your feeding. That, my dear, is the first stage of _primlar_ poisoning. It gets worse, believe me. _Primlar_ poisoning would kill a Kelbrid in moments. You Andalites differ." His face twisted into an expression which could be taken for a cruel, horrible smile. "It will take your friend weeks to die. That is, if thirst and hunger does not kill him first."

Arayah was silent, staring at the door with a stunned face. Their treatment since capture had been almost decent; far above expectations, considering who held them captive. She had almost gotten used to it, coming to take it for granted, coming to think that someone with power made sure they were not harmed. And now… _this_. She was suddenly reminded exactly how unprotected they were against the whims and wishes of their captors.

"Weeks of agony," the One whispered in a cold voice. "Unless we give him the antidote within… the nearest twelve hours, I'd guess. But you are in luck; for a Kelbrid, it is mere seconds. Come."

Arayah followed him, as if in shock, numbed from seeing her fellow warrior – her officer – her friend – in that condition.

The One stopped again. A wall turned see-through. From where they stood they could see the ship's pool. And the room around it.

The cages were mostly empty; there were not that many Yeerks feeding at that time. Only a few dozen Yeerks swam in the pool, and about a third as many downhearted hosts sat motionless in the cages. What struck her the most was the silence; no screams, no cries, no pleas in a place where hope was no more than a quickly fading memory.

Langur and Arifur stood on the infestation pier, weighed down by so many fetters and shackles it was a marvel they still stood at all. Their fur was coated with sweat; their sides lined with bleeding cuts and bruises; Langur was trembling, Arifur was only standing on three legs, the fourth held up, the knee swollen to almost twice its normal size. Stalks and tails were held low from exhaustion… about a dozen guards made sure they didn't leave the pier, but it was obvious they had tried.

"As you see," the One said, regarding the two indifferently. "They did not really wish to walk out on the pier. It took a large number of guards a long time to persuade them. And to force them to stay there. Exhaustion keeps them calm for the moment, but when I give the all-clear to the Yeerks they will pick up the fight where they left off. You have probably figured out what I plan to do. I have finally decided to let the Yeerks have their precious Andalite hosts."

«You… cannot…» Arayah shuddered, pulling back against the wall behind her in disgust. All four eyes were fixated on the two Andalites. «You cannot be serious. This…»

"You can stop it still, female," the One spat. "Let me touch your mind. Let me use your eyes. I have told the Yeerks to wait five hours."

He came closer, faced her, shining with a green light that made her close her eyes to protect them and turn her face away. "After that, the Yeerks will have the hosts they longed for. And I will have one problem less to worry about."

«Unless you give the order to stop it,» Arayah finished weakly.

"Precisely."

Arayah found that her hands were trembling. She clenched them into tight fists and forced them still. Prepared for the worst, she forced the question that was on her mind out; «Where is Jakari?»

The one smiled another horrible smile. "This way." He started walking again. Arayah followed with heavy steps. To her surprise the One led her out of the ship, and away from it. They kept walking for a good number of minutes, closer to half an hour.

They ended up outside a cruiser. A small, black Yeerk craft; a mini-version of the cruiser that had rammed the Blade ship. It was bigger than a bug fighter, designed for a crew of four or five, and much more beautiful. If any Yeerk craft could be called that.

"I promised to give you a craft to escape in," the One said. "Here it is. All yours, if you agree to my terms. This, Arayah-Althasa-Neferia, is your one and only route to freedom."

«I asked where Jakari was!» Arayah reminded him, but could not stop herself from turning a stalk to watch the cruiser hopefully.

"The fourth Andalite? He is safe and unharmed in a cell on the Blade ship."

«Safe?» Arayah repeated shrilly, disbelieving. «Unharmed?!»

"For the moment, yes. For another hour. I have promised the Kelbrid to be allowed to play with him." He chuckled delightedly, very pleased with himself. "Let me try your memory, Andalite. Do you remember what happened to the rest of… Prince Aximili's…" the name and title was said with an unmistakable sneer "…boarding party? Do you remember what happened to the group you would have gone with – if you had followed orders?"

«Of course I remember,» Arayah said, shifting her weight to another set of hooves, unsettled by the memory.

The pilot, Warlatan, and the remaining Andalite warriors had been killed. _Brutally_. Arayah and the four other prisoners had been led past the mutilated bodies, lying in a pile of Andalite blood, their empty, staring eyes frozen wide open and faces still holding expressions of panic and doubt.

The sight had clearly been a warning to the prisoners. It had worked; Arayah remembered leaning on Jakari so her wobbling knees would not betray her and give way. Jakari, usually quick to point out any sign of weakness or sentimentality on her part, had not commented, and for that she'd been very grateful.

The One was noting her expression with a content glow in his eyes. "Those Andalites were killed… no, I believe the proper term would be 'slaughtered'… by the Kelbrid. The Kelbrid are an annoyingly honoursome bunch, but they can be very cruel when that side comes out."

«And you have planned the same for Jakari,» Arayah said, proud over how steady her voice was. «I must say, from what you have planned for the others, it is not that bad.»

"Not that bad? I assure you, Andalite, every last Andalite of the boarding party was still alive when the final cut was given. My Kelbrid can keep your friend alive and screaming for days if it amuses them. Which it will; they have their orders, after all."

Arayah's back legs felt weak again.

"If you refuse my more than generous offer, I shall let you chose who you wish to join; Arifur and Langur, Jakari, or Rafatal."

«You must realise I will never go willingly to my own infestation. Rather my own death.»

"Neither is necessary. All you have to do is to let me use your eyes," the One said in a low, hypnotic voice. "Let me touch your mind. You shall not be harmed. I will let Jakari live. I shall stop the Yeerks from infesting Langur and Arifur. And I will give you the antidote capable of curing _primlar_ poisoning, to save Rafatal. And you can all flee, as a big, happy family, in this craft."

«But I cannot possible agree!» Arayah cried shrilly, despair hanging over her. «I do not have the authorisation to deal with the enemy! Not for my own life, or the life of my fellow warriors.»

The One was silent, watching her. Then; "How about the safety of your People?"

«What do you mean?»

"First of all, you have insight in the Kelbrid, and their technology and manners. You know about the Blade ship. And about me. All three of which, incidentally, are at war with your species. And you will be able to warn them of the attack I have planned on their planet."

«There is… an attack planned?»

He smiled again. "Yes, there is, my little Andalite. My forces have gathered in the shadow of a black hole, where your pitiful scanners cannot detect them. They will attack as soon as my preparations on the surface have been made.

"But if you get away, reach your Fleet with the information you hold…" his voice grew eager, he took the shape of Aximili and his four eyes shone green.

«Why would you let me do that?» Arayah said suddenly. «Unless… you really want me to agree. Are my eyes and mind so important that you risk losing a war?»

"They are very beautiful eyes," the One said with a warm Andalite smile.

Prince Aximili's smile. As always when the One had taken her Prince's form he used it to the full; well aware of how her hearts fluttered and her mind would become dizzy and disorganized by a smile, a touch, or even certain tones of voice.

But Arayah forced herself to focus.

This was not a warrior's decision, she thought. She could impossibly decide on her own. This was a job for a leader, someone with authority and… someone who, simply, knew what to do. How to deal with the situation. She longed for someone to make the decision for her; give the One what he wanted, or sentence four fellow warriors to death, or worse? As well as possibly endanger her planet and the People? Not a decision for a mere warrior. A decision for someone who could take the responsibility and deal with the consequences.

Someone who could live with the mental strain.

But there was no such person. Only a frightened, stressed warrior.

What would a Prince do in that situation? She did not know.

She could not agree. But she could not refuse, either. Jakari… Langur and Arifur… and Rafatal… the People might be in danger as well, and that was not even worth risking. She had sworn an oath to protect the People. No matter what.

No matter what.

If that meant giving up her eyes… her mind… eventually her life, it made her a danger and she failed to find a way out of it… well, then so be it. The others could carry word to the home world.

"You have made your choice," the One said.

«Yes,» Arayah replied, a cold numbness creeping over her. «I have.»


	11. When the Chosen defy the Whole

**11 When the Chosen defy the Whole**

- - -

"They probably know you're here," Rachel said gravely, as she lifted up a chair to put it back in its place. Tom was lying near the entrance of her – somehow – still standing cylindrical home. His golden eyes followed her every move, and she knew roughly where she was and what was around her.

"Who?" Jake asked, as he and Menderash lifted up the table, that had been tipped over. One of the legs were broken, and Jake added; "The table's broken."

"Leave it. I'll get someone to fix it."

"Who?" Marco reminded her. He was looking through their packs, trying to find some – as he called it – 'decent food'. "Who knows we're here?"

"The Yeerks," Rachel said. "and, thereby, the Touched."

"Hey," Jeanne said lowly. "If we've dragged this colony into trouble, we're sorry. Right?"

At the sharp tone of the last word, there were a lot of nods and agreeing mumbles.

Rachel smiled approvingly. "You've got them all nicely drilled there, Jeanne," she said.

Jeanne shrugged. "You've got no idea how annoying they can be sometimes. Don't listen to a word I say."

"It's not like we're a pack of dogs," Marco muttered.

"No. But in your case, it's close." Rachel flashed a perfect smile in his general direction.

"Jake!" Marco complained. "They're at it again! Tell them to _stop_!"

Jake rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, don't worry about the colony," Rachel said, picking up where they had left off. "The Touched have known about this place for a long time. Usually, they leave us alone, unless we deliver the first strike – the One doesn't consider us worth his time. But now you've angered the Yeerks, so they wanted some payback."

"Typical Yeerks," Menderash spat. "sending others to do their dirty work."

"Strange for Yeerks to trust anyone else with a mission like this," Marco disagreed, sending a sharp glance at the former Andalite – at which Menderash got something stubborn in his expression.

"They don't have a choice," Rachel said, looking very pleased. "That's why the resistance stays here instead of moving on like we usually do; Yeerks can't come to Cava'ara."

"Ooh," Marco said, head snapping up from the packs and face alight with a grin worth remembering. "I like it. Why not?"

"Kandrona particles came from their sun, as you know," Rachel started. "Cava'ara's sun emits particles that break down Kandrona."

"Causing instant Kandrona starvation," Menderash finished, eyes shining, hands trembling the slightest bit with excitement.

"It would if they came close enough," Rachel agreed. "But none have made it that close still alive. They stay FAR away. If they chase you, you'll lose them half a light-year away."

"Top Andalite scientists spent years trying to develop something capable of doing that," Menderash continued, maybe mostly to himself. "They never succeeded. To lay their hands on this…"

"Ehm, newsflash," Marco said, waving a concerned hand in front of Menderash's face. "Andalite attempts at biological warfare are over. Hopefully. Anyway, the Yeerk War is."

"There are still Yeerks," Menderash snapped, slapping Marco's hand away.

"Are they a threat?" Marco wondered.

"They might become one," Menderash insisted. "We are only trying to keep the universe safe."

"Do you Andalites always think that way? You're the top players – the big brothers of the universe – and when a suspected bully comes along you crush him before he gets half a chance to mischief? And if you crush a few innocent aliens in the process, who cares?"

"Calm down," Jake said, but no-one was listening.

"Are you insulting my species?!" Menderash demanded, fists clenched.

"I'm pointing out their drawbacks," Marco said. "But also saying this; don't condemn a species after what a few have done."

"And protecting Yeerks, I see," the former Andalite growled.

"You're the ones who tried to blow up my planet!" Marco pointed out, flying to his feet and stabbing an accusing finger at Menderash. "Not to mention the Hork-Bajir!"

"Hey! I said; Calm down!" Jake repeated. Menderash and Marco weren't listening, glaring at each other, Menderash with his fists clenched, Marco's face set in a grim expression. Menderash was about to let out another remark…

"DO AS HE SAYS OR I'LL SET TOM ON BOTH OF YOU!" Rachel roared. Tom's head snapped up to watch her when he heard his name.

That made them glance uncertainly in the kii-raja's direction. Menderash's hands unclenched with a jerk and Marco's grim face softened.

Rachel nodded. "I'll have no arguments in my house," she declared. "Especially not when it's still a mess from the Touched's last visit. _Is that clear_?"

No answer.

"And the proper reply would be, 'yes, Rachel'," Jeanne informed them sharply. Jake agreed with a curt nod.

"Fine," Marco muttered, returning to the packs.

"Agreed," Menderash mumbled, leaving the house quickly.

Santorelli shook his head. "Those two always seemed to be friends. What set that off, anyway? Andalite pride?"

"Andalite prejudice," Marco corrected below his breath. "and not for the first time."

"Maybe Marco's big mouth," Rachel said, shrugging. "Who knows? Who cares?" she made a gesture with her hand and Tom stood up, stretching lazily, one leg at a time like a dog.

"I'm going to see to that prisoner," Rachel said. "That Kelbrid said he was acting strange. It's my job to figure out what to do with him." She made her way to the door, and when she left the house her kii-raja followed.

"Prisoner?" Jeanne said, head on the side. "What prisoner?"

«A Touched prisoner,» Tobias said. «The resistance caught him during the attack.»

"Why don't they send for Ka'an?"

«Long story.»

"While she sees to the prisoner," Santorelli said. "What do we do?"

"First of all, fetch back Menderash," Jake said, ignoring Marco's glare. "Except for Rachel, he's the only one who understands Kelbrid. We need him here. Tobias?"

The name came out by habit, but Tobias only turned towards Jake with an and-since-when-do-I-take-orders-from-you-look. He had not exactly become any _fonder_ of Jake since they had been reunited with Rachel; even though she now was alive, not dead, it had ripped up the old anger.

"Tobias? Go find Menderash," Jeanne said softly, to avoid another display of anger.

«I'm on it,» Tobias agreed, if with less enthusiasm than in the past. He turned away from Jake, and flapped out through the new and only window; a hole in the roof with charred edges.

- - -

Tom bared his teeth and growled loudly at the prisoner as soon as he set eyes on him.

"I know," Rachel said. "I know."

Kii-raja had a very unusual – and most likely unique – sense of smell. They 'smelled' DNA. And, possibly, there was a mutation in the DNA of the Touched that Tom could smell – and did not like.

Or it was just the unnatural shining green of their eyes.

Tom huffed, looked suspiciously at the silent Kelbrid, but then sat down. He flashed a mental picture to Rachel of the prisoner; whose left wrist blade was crooked and one eye was missing. In its place was a wicked scar after a bad burn, and the distorted skin of his forehead hung loosely over the empty socket like a curtain.

"Has he spoken?" Rachel asked the two guards softly in the Kelbrid tongue.

"Not yet, _cer_ _y'yhan_," one of them said. There was another kii-raja half-sleeping a short distance away. Captive Kelbrid were always kept with a guarding kii-raja nearby; even if they escaped the guards, they would not escape the kii-raja.

Just then the prisoner looked up, and glared with his one eye at Rachel, just then noticing her presence. "Human," he sneered.

"But no Yeerk," Rachel replied calmly. Her fluency in Kelbrid language made his one eye widen in surprise and anger – and, surprisingly, approval. "I'm not Kelbrid, but I suggest you listen up anyway. What's your name?"

"We Chosen need no names, since we are mere parts of the glorious Whole!" his eye shone manically.

"You had a name once. What was it?"

But the prisoner was deep in his own thoughts, staring forwards, straight through her as if she was not even there. "The One disapproves of those who allow themselves to be captured," he said, as if only thinking aloud.

"Name?" Rachel repeated sharply.

One of the guards flew to his feet. "YOU WILL REPLY WHEN ASKED A QUESTION!!" he roared. The sleeping kii-raja awoke with a start from the movement and jumped up as well, baring his teeth, tail whipping from side to side behind him.

"They called me… Ki'in," said the Touched, as if the name was a distant memory hard to bring up. "Or was it TaKi'in?"

"Fair enough," Rachel decided. "First of all, you need to understand…"

TaKi'in squirmed where he sat, expression changed, and his tightly bound horns made an attempt to move. "I came with reason," he said. "The One… the Whole… would… disapprove." His single eye closed, the slits on his cheeks flared open. He shuddered as if in pain, but there was nothing near to hurt him

Rachel and the two guards went silent at once. A Touched doing something the One would disapprove of?

That was new.

Rachel sat down on the floor in front of TaKi'in. The Kelbrid guards began to object – she was sitting well within reach of his wrist blades, and according to custom only the horns were restrained. Rachel ignored them. Tom was sitting only half a meter away; she had nothing to fear.

"Tell me what you've done," she said softly.

"No direct orders to stop me," TaKi'in explained, his one eye still closed, and rocking back and forth, hands clenched. "If no order…"

"We know how it works," Rachel said.

TaKi'in's eye opened so suddenly that Tom let out a growl and the guards took a step closer. Rachel sat motionless, seeing that movement no better than anything else. But her other senses were sharpened to hear the Touched's next words.

"The One… caught an Andalite. A Taken Andalite. Five others… from same ship… trapped." He shuddered. "The One wants… Andalites… among the Chosen."

"The five Andalites. They need help?"

TaKi'in failed to reply, but continued rocking back and forth, the cheek-slits showing clearly his rapid breaths. Defying the One was hard for anyone in his presence, once he focused his will on them… but the Touched lived under his will. For them to defy him…

The two guards were suddenly regarding their prisoner with a good lot of respect.

The Touched had no choice but to follow orders the One gave. Otherwise, they could do as they pleased. But if they ever did something the One would dislike, with the purpose of defying him… then things grew hard. Very hard.

"Not all Chosen like the Whole," TaKi'in continued, and his voice had lost the normal musical tone of Kelbrid and fallen to a harsh rasping. "There is… resistance. But it is hard…" he fell forwards with a cry, and the first guard yanked Rachel out of the way. Tom flew up but Rachel grabbed at him to keep him back. The other kii-raja lowered his head warningly.

When the second guard pulled TaKi'in back up the Touched was sobbing. Blood was pouring out of his cheek-slits, his single eye beginning to fade, the life running out of it.

"So hard…" he sobbed. "But… must stop. No more. No more… Chosen. No Andalite Chosen…"

He fell again, like someone nodding off to sleep. Rachel saw it through Tom's eyes and grabbed his shoulders, pushed him up, and took a rough hold on his chin to wake him up again. "TaKi'in. What can we do?"

TaKi'in's ears leaned outwards in a weak smile. "My name. I… have not heard… my name… for…"

"The Andalites," Rachel snapped. "Where are they held?"

"…for… a long time."

"TaKi'in; listen –"

"_Arnaha_," begged the Touched, his voice barely audible, his eye staring straight into one of Rachel's. "_Tirish_ _jha'arnaha_."

Then the last flame of life faded in TaKi'in's one eye and he slumped together, lifeless.

Rachel said a silent prayer in Kelbrid manner before she stood up. Tom sniffed at the still-warm corpse, and lay his ears back, growling. Rachel pulled lightly, reprimanding, at one of his ears and he looked up at her, wondering what she wanted.

"Take care of him," Rachel ordered the guards, waving a hand at TaKi'in. "Make sure he is treated like one of our own warriors – and make sure Ka'an doesn't find out."

"Yes, _cer_ _y'yhan_," the first guard said, his right hand flying up to touch his left shoulder in a sign of respect.

Through Tom's eyes, before she left, Rachel saw the two beginning to gently undo the bonds on TaKi'in's horns. The Touched prisoner had left an impression on the two.

On Rachel as well, but of another kind. She was deep in thoughts when she left the conical house where the prisoner had been kept.

- - -

Estrid waited outside Kandion's quarters for a long time before the Captain finally made an appearance. Minalea had offered to break security and have the door opened that way, but Estrid had declined, firmly, not considering that to be at all fitting.

Captain Kandion greeted her with a minimal lowering of stalks, his face unreadable. «Might I help you in any way, scientist?»

Estrid drew some courage. She had faced worse than a simple ship's Captain. «In fact you can. It is about Olana…»

«_Aristh_ Olana will be sent off this ship, as the other _aristh_s,» Kandion replied curtly. «Anything else?»

«Why?» Estrid asked. «'The other _aristh_s'? Are they all to be sent away?»

Kandion gave her a long, evaluating look.

«Is Olana being sent home?» Estrid asked.

«Of course not,» Kandion said. «Only transferred. The Fleet does not give up on _aristh_s so easily. No _aristh_ shall be sent home from my ship. But at the moment I will see them all transferred.» He sighed heavily. «If that was all, scientist, you must excuse me; I have more important matters to see to.»

He began trotting away, speedily, but Estrid set the same pace and followed.

«Why, Captain?» she demanded.

«Are you going to insist that I answer that?»

«Yes, I am.»

Another evaluating look, this time with his stalks. The Captain's proud expression flickered for half a moment, and he stopped, turned towards her, his dark eyes for once looking worried.

«Then I better do so,» he said softly, reverting to private thought-speech. «No use battling where I cannot win. Here is my reply; the Fleet is afraid.»

«Afraid of what?» Estrid asked, as surprised by his change of manner as by his words.

«Afraid of the Kelbrid, scientist. We still know nothing about them. Ships that return, ships we hear from, are ships that have encountered nothing. Eight of ten ships disappear like a breath of fresh air in a hurricane. And now… now…» Another sigh.

«And now your orders have come,» Estrid finished, seeing where he was going. «Orders to join the ranks at the front. And …» her eyes narrowed «…you do not wish to bring your _aristh_s along.»

«This is a stupid war,» Kandion said bluntly. «But I am only a War-Prince, I can do nothing to change it. We should gather our strengths and wait for them to come out. We need a war in the open; not in darkness. Our Fleet is not adapted for fighting an enemy we cannot see.»

«They will dislike this, Captain,» Estrid commented. «They would not want to be sent away, if they knew.»

«They do not need to know. Even if they did; I am their Captain, as well as their War-Prince. They _shall_ follow orders.»

Estrid's first purpose, to discuss the personal war between the _aristh_s, was forgotten. She suddenly had another goal. «Let them stay.»

«Why? To lead them to their deaths?»

«Captain. As far as I know, they all volunteered to become _aristh_s. They probably knew it would lead to a warrior's life, and most likely, sooner or later, their deaths. And if they have not thought that far yet, it is time someone opened their eyes.»

To her surprise, Kandion smiled, approving of her words; «Wisely spoken.»

«Give them a chance, at least. Tell them they will all be sent home if they do not behave faultlessly from now on. Teach them that war is not fun and games.»

«Have you been to war, scientist?» Kandion asked, watching her with an entirely new expression. The curt expression, the reined contempt of youth and feminity and a scientist's intellectualism, was gone. Not that Estrid had blamed him for it; she was still young, barely an adult, and to Kandion's war-hardened eyes she must have seemed an ignorant child.

«I was sent to Earth with three others,» Estrid said carefully. And added; «Before the victory. So, if not true war, I have seen battles.»

Kandion – to her relief – asked no further questions, and Estrid said no more. But to her shock, the Captain asked; «What of you, scientist? Will you be willing to be transferred, or sent home, or do you wish to remain on my ship?»

«I shall stay as long as I am allowed to,» she replied.

«Tell me immediately if, at any time, you wish to be sent home. I shall arrange it,» he promised, giving her a side look. «But now I must tend to my ship.» He bowed his stalks, with a touch of real respect this time, and turned to gallop away.

By the dropshaft he stopped. He did not turn to face her, not even swivel his stalks back, but he spoke clearly; «Scientist. If you truly have seen battle, and still aim for war, then I ask your pardon for underestimating you. You are braver than you first appear.»

«Brave?» Estrid said, partly blushing, shifting her weight to another set of hooves, and allowing herself a laugh. «I'm terrified.»

«Still, you are here,» Kandion said simply, and disappeared down the dropshaft.

Estrid thought that over as she returned to the labs.

- - -

"_Arnaha_," Rachel repeated TaKi'in's last plea in a murmur to herself. "_Tirish_ _jha'arnaha_. Wise words."

«What words?»

Rachel bent her head back with a smile to look up by well-rooted habit before she remembered that she was blind. Lowering her own with a sigh, she lifted Tom's head up and he sent a rough sketch of the purple-shaded sky and the hawk circling down towards them.

"What are you doing here?"

«I had to fetch back Menderash. Now, I'm just taking a look around. And I'm landing on your shoulder,» Tobias warned. «Just so I won't frighten you and end up as Tom's lunch.»

Rachel smiled. "I can still recognize the feel of talons on my shoulder," she said, as Tobias landed. She reached up a hand to stroke his chest. "Especially yours."

«Good. I'd feel insulted if you didn't. What words were you talking about?»

"I just had a talk with a very unusual prisoner," Rachel said. "He's dead now, though."

Tobias's fierce gaze was felt if not seen.

"Not our fault," Rachel added hastily. "Do you really think I'd let him die? Torture him, or something?"

«Yes,» Tobias remarked. «If it suited you.»

"Oh, that stung," Rachel replied, indifferently. "But you're wrong. I wouldn't sink that low. Torture wouldn't do any good with the Touched, anyway; telling an enemy anything is bad enough for them, because their One doesn't like it. Doing something the One disapproves of is… _unpleasant_. This one – his name was TaKi'in – he spoke a bit too much for his own good health."

«And died?» Tobias said sceptically.

"He was rocking back and forth as if in pain and breathing blood," Rachel revealed. "Then he died. But he was really helpful."

«Sad story,» Tobias sighed.

"He said '_tirish_ _jha'arnaha_'. It means 'must find freedom', or 'must find liberty'."

«Wise words.»

"That's what I thought, too. It was the last thing he said. I wonder…" she silenced.

«What?»

"A Kelbrid's last words are, according to custom, the most important thing he or she ever said. A wounded Kelbrid will keep alive long enough for someone to hear them. And '_tirish_ _jha'arnaha_'…"

«I think that's all he meant to say. Important enough.»

Rachel shrugged her free shoulder. "Probably. The question is if he meant it as a statement or a clue." With Tom at her side (unavoidably) and Tobias still on her shoulder she began walking again, heading towards her home. "We need to talk to Jake. And Menderash, too."

«Why?»

"TaKi'in mentioned five Andalite prisoners."

- - -

Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthil felt the stir in his mind. Or what was left of it.

He felt sleepy. Heavily drugged. Thoughts were sluggish. Incoherent. They could begin on one subject and end on something completely different. When he managed to end them at all.

When his body was put to use he was most awake. Otherwise, after that first feel of power, that first touch of evil and strength, when he had been and felt more alive than ever before… there was only a shapeless fog. Impossible to move, hard to think.

Usually when the being that held him brought out his body, it felt strange. Confined. There was a word for it… if he could remember it.

Two-dimensional. Yes. That was it; he was trapped in two dimensions. His mind was still in three. Even if he was unable to think rationally far enough to figure that out. And, although the One could keep his mind barely aware, he had a hard time 'shutting it down' as he did with the body.

This time was different, Aximili noticed. This time there was no confinement. The creature that held him dared to let him out in all three dimensions.

Which, he knew at once, gave him more freedom. The One lost a lot of control, over both his body and his mind. His thoughts were clearing out, and with a bit of effort the inputs to his senses began to make actual sense.

Fresh air, his nose told him. Trees and grass. But all of it foreign; all of it alien. There was a soft wind, and dewy grass under his hooves that was just bitter enough to make him want to lift his hooves away from it. Voices talked around him; Hork-Bajir, human, Taxxons and a lot of alien, musically falling and rising voices. None of them sounded happy.

Finally he broke free enough for the blur that was sight to take form. The One tried to push him back into place, but once Aximili had hold of sight he had no intention of letting go. Although he knew that the One could easily force him.

«Let me,» he said in his mind. «I will not do any harm.»

«What harm can you do?» the One sneered, a voice inside his own mind; the master's voice. But the being let him keep hold of sight.

Probably since Aximili was – to his soul – a warrior, the One realised that snatching sight away would not have been child's play – and also, he thought in his arrogance, not worth his energy.

Aximili did not savour his small victory, knowing it really was worth nothing and meant even less. He was looking out through his eyes – for the first time in, how long? he did not know – and seeing other Andalites. Although it took some time to recognize how Andalites looked, and even longer to realise it was Andalites he saw. But there was something wrong with these Andalites. At first, he could not, however he tried, put his finger on it. There was something missing… and something which should not be there.

Then it struck him; they lacked the Andalite pride – arrogance, some would say – and their tails were lowered. Only a few moments after that did he notice that the tails were held down by fetters. They were held tightly by shackles; shackles that secured both tails and hands, tied them together, and left the Andalite without any defence other than his fleetness of hoof.

The shackles puzzled Aximili.

Three of them, totally, being loaded into a small cruiser, herded almost like cattle. The first walked easily, almost unharmed, still strong enough to resist. But the two others were in very bad shape, staggering forwards slowly, skin lined with cuts and blisters and bruises and swellings, fur coated with blood, and not caring the slightest where they were being taken. After some extra thought he recognized them; from his own crew. A sudden insight told him, after that, that he had a crew, too. He had forgotten that.

But Aximili only saw what the One looked at. And before he could remember any names, or ranks, the being averted his eyes to look another way. At another Andalite. This one was being carried roughly by Hork-Bajir. No shackles, no wounds, but despite that he barely moved, and then only to breathe.

Another crewmember. There was a name… a name that was just out of reach. Before he had found it, the One slammed down on him like a pouncing cat on a mouse.

«Now, Andalite, you will behave,» he ordered. «No tricks.»

Aximili at that point was not sure who the being was talking to. 'Andalite', who was that? But the order seemed directed at him, and the first thing that came to mind was «Yes, Prince Jake,» so that is what he said.

The One laughed at him. Strange. Prince Jake would never… he would… or would he? Would what? Who, by the way? Confusing.

Fuzz and fog turned back to sight. Aximili was making sense of what he saw before he had straightened out what he was thinking.

Another Andalite, again. Female. From his own crew. The others had disappeared into the cruiser.

But this one was walking free. No shackles.

Aximili's blood seethed. Or it would have, if his mind had been more connected to his body. At least it did mentally; and that was enough. He was unsure as to why… there was something untrustworthy about a prisoner without shackles. Or there was something in general about that female. He felt anger, but was not sure where it was aimed. At the female, or at those who were guarding her?

Before he investigated the thought further, there came another blow from the One; a sledgehammer to his head. His mind spun wildly again. But he focused hard and returned to more or less coherent thought relatively quickly.

The One was talking. To the female… Arayah. The name came as a surprise, but he knew it was the right one. As well as he knew anything. He could not hear any words from what they were saying… he heard voices, but the words were hidden in a mix of mumbles.

Then suddenly he knew. He knew what was happening. He knew about the One's plan. Making Arayah a form of messenger, to grab hold of the Andalites as he had of the Kelbrid. To add another species to his Chosen. If it was something that had leaked out from the triumphing One or if it was something he somehow had figured out himself, he would never know.

But he knew it had to be stopped.

The One beat him down again and his mind emptied. What he had been thinking of was gone, melted away like snow in a sauna.


	12. When fears become reality

**12 When fears become reality**

- - -

«All _aristh_s to the bridge!»

The Captain's sudden voice made Minalea jump. She let her stalks spin around, but the corridor was still empty. Laughing at herself, she continued with her task.

Four stretches of (almost) invisible, very strong thread – that went under the fancy name of 'tripwire' – across the _aristh_s' corridor, just before Aralgo and Carali's quarters. She just hoped she would be there to see them trip.

Just had to warn Larynia about it, and Olana and Estrid, she reminded herself, grinning as she tied the last thread in place. Then she stood back to admire her work.

Sure, she had promised 'no more pranks', but this did not count. This was only…

«_ARISTH_ MINALEA-SILINAN-ALAREIM! GET TO THE BRIDGE _INSTANTLY_!» the Captain roared out over the ship.

Minalea started off at a wild gallop, almost tripping herself over the tripwires, but avoiding each of them at the last moment. She wanted to stop to make sure no evidence was left behind, but she had to make due with a quick stalkglance before speeding around a corner. She rushed through another corridor and threw herself into a shaft, calling an «Excuse me!» to the Prince who had been on his way in but now jumped back, startled.

Bridge _bridge_ _bridge_, she thought as she flew upwards, hoping the shaft led to the bridge. 

It did, and she stepped out on the bridge, happy with the excellent was things had turned out – and her new speed record. Although not everyone was as pleased.

«Do you have a problem with the term 'instantly', _aristh_?» TO Ranmili demanded.

«No, sir,» she replied, stepping up to join the other _aristh_s and Estrid – who was there as well. They stood on a neat line, and she walked past behind them. Aralgo held out a tail-blade to sweep her front legs, but she sidestepped to avoid it and slammed her own blade down at his hock. He jerked forwards by reflex, eyes wide, but then both stalks turned to glare at her.

«One-zero to you,» Larynia congratulated privately.

«Soon it will be two-zero,» Minalea replied smugly, taking her place at the end of the line.

«Oh? How come?»

«I –»

«Glad you decided to join us, _aristh_ Minalea,» Captain Kandion said lowly.

«I'll tell you later,» Minalea said to Larynia.

«I have something important to show you,» Kandion continued in a serious tone. A dull such, in Minalea's opinion.

«As you know,» Kandion said, «we are heading out to the front.»

«About time, too,» Larynia blurted loudly. The adults stared at her, perhaps waiting for her to either explain her behaviour or apologize. Of course, she did neither. She just smiled sweetly, saying; «Pay me no heed. You may continue, Captain.»

Ranmili, the TO, looked like he might burst into flames, and he was about to do so when the Captain spoke again.

«It is not a joking matter,» Kandion whispered, but it was a whisper of stone, and he looked like he was considering a barbeque – with roast _aristh_ as the main meal. «The sooner you understand that, the better. As I have told you before, I will tolerate no more nonsense from any of you.»

He shot a pointed look at Minalea, who thought briefly about her tripwires. But no, that wasn't nonsense; it was brilliance.

«Orders are to be followed precisely and quickly. QUICKLY. Did you hear that, _aristh_ Minalea?»

Minalea (who was deep in hopes that he wouldn't go through the entire moral lecture from the last time they had all been called to the bridge) flashed a winning smile at him. «No, Captain, but if you repeat it I'll be sure to listen.»

TO Ranmili grew three sizes and prepared to yell at her, but the expression disappeared and he rolled his stalks in exasperation. He might still have hopes about Larynia, but he had almost given up about Minalea.

Kandion watched his TO carefully, and said: «It is my firm belief that some day, _aristh_ Minalea, all your creativity will be put to good use. Until then, we will try to_ resist _all impulses to shove you out an air lock. Is that not so, tactical officer?»

«As you say, my Captain,» gritted Ranmili.

Larynia quenched a laugh – but Olana stirred, uncomfortable. Since her experience with the _tarfat _leaves, Olana had a whole lot more respect for the Captain than what was good for her.

Minalea and Larynia were doing their utmost to cure her of that. Although when their efforts had accomplished little even after a week, they gradually lost interest.

«Bring forth the hologram,» Kandion ordered.

A hologram switched on in front of the _aristh_s. It showed a ship. A ship that anyone with eyes could see was dead-in-space.

«This is…» Kandion sighed. «Maybe I should say 'was'. This 'was' the _Starshine_. The sister ship of the _Daybreak_. Although not much remains, as you can see.

«This picture was taken from a scouting fighter. The _Starshine_ was reported missing five weeks ago. Found two days ago. No survivors. Zoom in.»

The last was directed at whoever was controlling the hologram, and the order was quickly followed. Around the _Starshine_, fighters in various states of destruction and desolation floated, all lifeless.

«Every crewmember and pilot and fighter has been found,» Kandion said. «Dead, all of them. The ship's log states a strange encountered with three small, black, unidentified fighters; possibly Kelbrid. Two were shot down, but the third escaped. No more is said, and we can only assume that the escaped fighter brought backup strong enough to knock the _Starshine_ out. But, tell me one thing; what is wrong with this picture?»

The _aristh_s and Estrid watched the hologram as it zoomed in again, and bit by bit went through the area around and inside the _Starshine_. In the corridors, and in more open areas, there were dead Andalites, all stacked in orderly piles. Burn marks from shredders on the walls left proof of battle, and a few walls and doors – metal walls and doors – were simply torn away to leave a gap, large enough to let through a human, but not an Andalite – at least not a fully grown Andalite.

The destruction and horror of it all made Estrid and Olana feel too sickened to start thinking about the answer to the Captain's question, and even Minalea paled a bit. Carali and Aralgo tried to hide it, of course, but their eyes were a bit wide.

So were Larynia's. But they were dark with anger as well. Anger that – Minalea knew – was the thing that let her hide the nausea. And fear.

Larynia was also the first to answer the question; «No enemies, Captain. They have cleared out the evidence. Cleared out their own dead and damaged fighters.»

«Correct,» Kandion said heavily. «So far, no Andalite has seen a Kelbrid and lived to report it. The Kelbrid are silent, dangerous and efficient.»

«And very smart, Captain,» Larynia added. «By keeping hidden they frighten us.» In a cocky voice she added; «Or at least try to.»

«Succeed, _aristh_; they succeed,» Ranmili muttered.

«Perhaps you understand more now when I tell you this is getting very serious, very fast,» Kandion continued. «Any questions?»

«Captain, is it true they have only fighters?» Olana asked timidly.

Kandion thought about that for a moment. «Yes,» he said finally. «As far as we know. But they build up those fighters to form ships with highly dangerous weaponry. Weaponry strong enough to disable a Dome ship without much trouble.»

«You'd love to get your hands on that, huh, Minalea?» Larynia grinned privately.

«Why did you bring us to see this?» Carali wondered.

Kandion's face turned grave. He looked straight at Estrid, but then his gaze swept over the rest of them. «If anyone wants to return home,» he said. «It is not too late.»

Larynia laughed. «Back out? The fun has not even begun yet!»

No-one yelled at her. Maybe that is what made her lose her smile, grow silent and glance at the hologram an extra time. For the moment, it was showing the inside of the _Starshine_'s dome. The trees were chopped down, the grass burnt. Even there, the dead were piled high. The hologram stopped for a moment, looking straight at the face of a young warrior – possibly an _aristh_. He had wide slash across his nose, splitting his face into two parts. His eyes, peeking out from under a crust of dried blood, were empty. Dead.

«No,» Kandion said sadly, also watching the hologram. «No. It has not even started yet.» He pointed at the screen. «And how many youngsters will die when it does?» Turning with a sigh, he walked away.

«_Dismissed_!» FO Thalus roared. «You will report as usual to Sarjil in the morning!»

In a collective troop, the _aristh_s marched to the dropshafts. For once, no-one argued with the next, and no tail-blades were sent out to swipe someone else's hooves.

«Stop!» Ranmili snapped. The troop stopped, at once recognizing the disapproving tone of voice. «_Arisths_ Minalea and Larynia will report five hours before that to me for a lesson in respect!»

Minalea rolled her stalks, unconcerned, but Larynia spun around towards the TO, eyes flashing. Estrid caught her arm and shook her head.

«They will do so, tactical officer,» Estrid said. She looked questioningly at Larynia, who only pulled her arm free, but made no objections.

After that they walked down to their own quarters in silence. Minalea had almost forgotten her threads, but when she remembered she made sure she and Larynia lingered by Olana's and Estrid's quarters long enough for Carali and Aralgo to pass.

She did not watch them – they might get suspicious – but soon a _THUMP_ announced that her trap had worked. Aralgo stopped instantly when he saw Carali fall, and just moments after he spun around towards Minalea.

«You did this!» he growled.

Minalea leaned her head to the side. «Yes. Yes, I suppose I did.» She grinned, forgetting the horrors she and the others had just been showed – and forgetting Ranmili's coming lecture. «And what are you planning to do about it?»

- - -

«Andalites?» Tobias said. «Ax? No, probably not.» He lifted his wings and with a single flap left Rachel's shoulder.

"Where are you going?" she called after him.

«I'll just fly ahead. Meet you at the house.»

Rachel shrugged and continued, following the guidance of Tom's eyes. She reached her home quickly, almost as quickly as Tobias – since she knew the village better than he did. All the houses looked the same, especially from above, but Rachel knew to tell them apart. When she entered Tom left her and went back to his usual place, by the entrance, looking out over the main room. Rachel made her way to the kitchen for some water.

"How did it go?" a voice asked as she entered. Tom did not show her who was speaking, and it took her a few seconds to figure out who it was; Santorelli. The new recruit.

Rachel fished up water from the barrel in a bowl and drank it before she replied. "With the prisoner? Fine, I guess. I have some news I think I should share with the group."

«The quicker the better,» Tobias agreed. He was perched on the broken table.

Rachel nodded. She managed out of the kitchen without any help from Tom (who now was slumbering where he lay, knowing from experience that she very seldom needed his help in her own house) and sat down, leaned against a wall. In short terms she told the others about her talk to TaKi'in, leaving out the unimportant parts and focusing the news about the Andalite prisoners.

"Probably the ones we heard on the Blade ship when we fled from the _Rachel_," Santorelli commented. "Remember?"

Menderash nodded eagerly, looked excited and worried at the same time. His eyes were shining; if he had been Andalite, and still in the Fleet, he would have displayed no emotion, but he had less control over emotions in his _nothlit_ form and the news thrilled him. "Live prisoners," he said. "From the same place as Captain Aximili. They must be from the boarding party. Maybe they could help… tell us what really happened!"

"Don't get your hopes up," Jake warned. "If we get close enough to free them, and talk to them, we'll get our hopes up. Until then, there's nothing except a long row of problems."

"Yes, Captain," Menderash agreed. "But I do hope we actually _are_ going to help them."

"If we can, of course," Jake said. "But first of all, we need to figure out where they are."

"Easy. Kept on the Blade ship," Jeanne said. "At least, they were once – if they really came from the same place Ax did – and still were when we came along."

"Then where is the Blade ship?" Marco wondered. "and, are they still there?"

«We don't know,» Tobias said. «But it's our best shot.»

"The Blade ship is down for repairs," Rachel informed them. "Ka'an will know more exactly where. One of the larger Kelbrid colonies, probably." She grinned. "Attacking one of them is just plain lunatic. Sounds terrific."

"More like 'terrible'," Marco muttered.

"Afraid, human?" Menderash snapped.

Jeanne slammed a hand over Marco's mouth before he had time to say something, giving him a sharp look. When she took her hand away Marco was dark in the face. But stayed silent.

Jake sighed. "We'll do what we can but no more. Rachel? Say we are attacking this large Kelbrid colony. How would it be possible?"

«Would it be possible at all?» Tobias corrected.

"We managed a few rather impossible attacks on the Yeerk pool," Rachel reminded them, shrugging. "Anything's possible." She thought for a moment, pulling up her knees and wrapping her arms around them. "An open assault is out of the question. We would be slaughtered. Literally. So we would have to sneak. Can be done. As long as no-one catches us, notices us, or even suspects we're there, we'll be fine. And if we're caught, well…"

"Define 'well'," Santorelli said dryly.

"If the Yeerks get us; they're still Yeerks, and in any case Jake, Tobias, Marco and I know how to get away. We can deal with Yeerks. No prob. The Kelbrid… the Kelbrid are more likely to kill us on sight and ask questions later."

"That kinda makes it harder to escape alive," Marco agreed, nodding.

"Our main target is still to free Ax," Jake said. "We don't want to be stupid and risk all we've got on a side-mission."

"Then again, going after the One doesn't seem to be the type of thing smart people do," Jeanne pointed out. "But I, personally, never claimed to be smart. I say this; we get to the Blade ship, and figure out what to do from there. We can go after the One and try to free Ax, and if we get a chance we'll help those other Andalites. That way we cover both targets and have a nice, flexible plan."

"Or no plan at all, depending on how you see it," Marco muttered.

«I think it sounds good,» Tobias said.

Rachel nodded. "I can arrange transports there. Ka'an has already promised us fighters. But as soon as we're safely on ground, I'll send them home. We'll have to find our own way out."

"Is there a way out?" Marco wondered. "Because if there isn't, it's a no-no to go in."

"If there's a way in, there's a way out," Jake said cheerfully, shrugging.

"So when are we leaving?" Santorelli asked in a low voice.

Rachel stood up. "As soon as I've packed."

"Packed?" Jake echoed, leaning his head to the side.

Rachel rolled her blindly staring eyes. "Yeah; packed. And I advice you to do the same. This isn't a five-hour trip to the Yeerk pool, folks, it's an attack on an entire planet. Plan to do some serious distance-covering. And plan to do some carrying, too. We _are_ going to need packs. At least we need to bring something to eat."

"Good, cause I'd hate to get killed on an empty stomach," Marco muttered cheerfully.

"Okay," Jake said slowly. He had not thought that far yet. "You've done this before, Rachel, it seems. What do we need?"

"Food. Water, but that depends on where we're going. Maps would be good, but we don't have any, and neither do the Kelbrid. They don't use maps. A blanket or something, if we're going somewhere cold." She snapped her fingers. "Which reminds me. I need to find Ka'an, to find out _where_ we're going. You can start packing. Oh, and remember; light packs. Nothing except what's absolutely necessary, since we'll have to carry it ourselves. And it'll have to be little enough to be easily hidden."

With that, she followed the wall back to the door-hole and disappeared outside. Tom woke when her feet brushed his side, and followed when she called for him.

- - -

The One was back in his three-dimensional version of Prince Aximili. There was a circle of guards – Controllers and Kelbrid – all around. All watching her with hate in their eyes. The pupils of the Kelbrid, all Touched, gleamed green. The Yeerk Touched were harder to detect; they themselves had no eyes, and their host's pupils did not shine.

Arayah knew nothing of the connection between the One's touch and the green pupils. She, as Rafatal, Arifur, Langur and Jakari all considered the strange trait simply to be part of how Kelbrid looked. They had never, after all, encountered any 'free' Kelbrid.

«Did you hear me?» the One snapped suddenly.

Arayah realized that she had zoned out from reality for a moment. «No,» she said. «I did not.»

«Then listen. I will only say this once more. The Taxxon next to you will hand over the keys to your friends' shackles, as well as a bottle containing the antidote that can cure _primlar _poisoning. Also, the access codes to the cruiser. They will be handed to you shortly. But you will not be able to enter the cruiser until I have touched your mind. Understood?»

«Yes.»

The One smiled – Prince Aximili's smile, which she would never see again. Arayah could not believe she was actually going through with this. Or that she was leaving her Prince behind at it.

Too late to turn back.

The Taxxon gave her the keys, the antidote, and a paper with the access codes scribbled on it in _Galard_.

«How do I know these are not fake?» Arayah demanded.

«You do not,» the One retorted. «But you have no choice but to trust they are. And now, it is my turn. Look up, Andalite. Look into my eyes. Empty your thoughts. And stand still.»

Afterwards, Arayah had little if any recollection of what the One did. She remembered being almost blinded by the bright green of the One's eyes. She remembered a striking pain all over her body, in every single cell, as if she had been struck by lighting, or morphed and the pain-killer had failed.

She felt a bit light-headed, a bit sore, when she again heard the Ones' smug voice; "It is done."

The voice had always seemed to come from everything around her. Now, it came from inside her. A thought she heard that could have been her own, and the only way she knew it was not was because she thought it over and decided she had had no reason to think that.

The One was in his true shape. "Now then, little Andalite," he said. "Let me demonstrate something. Take that antidote and pour it out."

«What?» Arayah was about to protest, about to refuse, when she found that the bottle had already been lifted – by her own treacherous hands – and emptied. «No! Oh, no no no…» the empty bottle fell out of her suddenly limp hand to the ground.

The One's eyes shone triumphantly. "Give her another bottle of antidote," he ordered. "Do not worry, my dear, it was just a demonstration."

Arayah clutched the bottle that was handed to her, still staring in horror at the empty one, lying in front of her hooves. She had poured it out. She had poured it out! She had… But the worst part was that it had come so naturally, so easily, so… frighteningly.

"Maybe now you understand better," the One continued. "I shall tell you the rest. I can now see anything you see, hear anything you hear, just by thinking about you. You will be going home, Arayah-Althasa-Neferia, but as my… spy, you might call it. I have plans for winning this war, with your help, and gaining another species among my Chosen.

"You are among them now. A Chosen. A Touched… as one of my Kelbrid. As one of my Yeerks. I have hopes to gather the Andalites under my banner as well." He watched her, the glow in his eyes flickering, amused at her horrified expression. "I told you about the preparations I needed to make on the surface of your planet before my attack. You _are_ those preparations, Arayah."

Arayah felt weak. Her back legs would give way any second now… she would – no. No. A warrior did not faint. Did. Not. «You tricked me,» she accused weakly.

"Yes. I did. And I did a good job at it, too. Now, before you leave, I have some orders to give you. Orders which you will, whether you like it or not – follow, word for word."

The One glared at her, still suspicious. "You will say nothing of our agreement to anyone, except those who know, and other Chosen. Secondly, any information you hold on the Yeerks, Kelbrid, or myself will not be told to any Andalite who has not met us. Thirdly, you will forget any plans on suicide, because a dead Chosen is of little use to me. Understood?"

Arayah agreed. But not on her own accord.

"Good. Fourth, the story you will stick to when you come home is that the Yeerks caught you, kept you and the others prisoner for several months and… used you as hosts, that will avoid suspicions. Your friends helped you escape but you do not know what happened to them. You have never seen a Kelbrid, and you will not even mention that I exist. Arrange the details yourself."

The One smiled. "Fifth and last; you will be the only Andalite on that cruiser to return home alive. And you will dispose of the others yourself."

Arayah grew several shades paler. She was too horrified – too afraid – to think. If she had, she would have wondered why the One did not simply have the others killed on the spot and send her away alone. If she had asked, the One would have done one of three things; either he would have refused to reply, lied, or told the truth and said that he still did not trust her – still did not know the details or consequences about turning Andalites into Touched. Each species was different. This was a test, he would say, to see how far he could push before the Andalite toppled over. And he was going to push as far as possible.

But Arayah did not ask. And all the One said was; "Good luck, my little Andalite. Now go."

Arayah did as she was told and neared the spacecraft. But at a sudden thought, she stopped, her numbed mind beginning to work again. «One more favour.»

"What?" he demanded impatiently.

She turned around. «My Prince. Show me my Prince.»

"What for?"

«Why not?»

The One glared at her, but then shrugged and took the shape of Prince Aximili, in two dimensions.

Without warning Arayah dropped what was in her hands, threw herself forwards and grabbed hold of Aximili's wrists. She used her entire weight to pull sharply back again.

The One did not like that. The thought hit instantly, and at the same time a sudden pain struck her chest, as if something was squeezing her lungs. It spread to her heart and up her throat, and struck her eyes like needles. The pain intensified when she kept pulling, until she was unable to breathe and her eyes burned so much that she saw nothing more than a fog unless she focused hard.

But she could not stop pulling. Not at any price, especially not when Andalite hands and arms came out of the One's form, green sparks flying around them. Soon, shoulders followed, a chest, and even a head and a worried face.

Her Prince was stumbling out of his two-dimensional captor. But the One was pulling him back, and he was strong. Stronger than Arayah's weak Andalite hands and arms.

But her grip tightened when she heard Aximili speak. It was really him this time; not the One. It was Aximili's words; «The eyes. Eyes!»

Arayah was confused. He was disappearing back into the One, and she was losing her grip on his fingers. Only his arms and face were visible. «What?» she cried. «What eyes?»

«Also… deoxy… ribo… nucleic…»

"Let go!" thundered the One.

Arayah let go. The pain disappeared as if it had never existed, leaving her feeling drenched and disoriented. Her Prince disappeared as well; he sank back into the One. And the being towered before her, furious. "Never do that again!" he roared. "Now take your things and leave! QUICKLY!"

With a sob, she scrambled up the keys, the antidote and the access codes and fled into the cruiser as swiftly as her stumbling hooves would carry her.


	13. When noone calls

**13 When no-one calls**

- - -

When Rachel returned she spent three minutes rummaging about her home – with Jeanne's help – and stuffing what she considered necessary into a rucksack. After that she led the group down to the fighters.

"We're leaving already?" Marco exclaimed, stopping at the sight of the rows after rows of black arrowheads.

Rachel nodded. "Ka'an said the fighters would be ready in the morning. This is, if I'm not totally mistaken, the morning."

"True, but the Touched's attack… I thought kinda that cancelled plans."

"Nah. These are Kelbrid, not humans. They don't let a small raid stop them."

Jake smiled slowly. There was a strong note of approval in Rachel's voice – she had certainly ended up with the right type of aliens. Glancing at Tom, the smile broadened; the kii-raja was the perfect pet for his cousin – as Marco had said.

"'Small raid'?" Marco echoed. "These people are crazier than you are!"

"And if they understood that, they would feel flattered," Rachel added. She rubbed a finger over Tom's head; he had been looking in the wrong direction, at another kii-raja. Now he returned to his duties, looking slightly guilty, his ears flickering back and forth.

Rachel continued purposefully. Some of the Kelbrid called out greeting when she passed, and she answered with a few words in the Kelbrid tongue.

Then, after having walked for a few minutes, they noticed the fighter that was different. The Kelbrid fighters were all shaped like arrowheads; black, small, built to be very manoeuvrable and still very fast. This one was similar to the rest, where they stood on seemingly endless perfect rows, but small details here and there – that individually would have been overlooked – made the thing resemble a hawk. The head and half out-folded wings of a hawk.

Rachel pointed. "There. That's my fighter."

«The _Hawk_,» Tobias said, a note of pride in his voice. He was sitting on Rachel's shoulder; the thin, draftless air was difficult to fly in, he claimed. (His goose morph would have been perfect, he'd added with some sarcasm.) «I can see why you call it that.»

Rachel nodded. She led them closer, hand resting on Tom's neck, just above where the wicked-looking row of spikes began.

"One moment," Marco said, stopping. "Look. All the fighters have large front windows. With some sort of shaded glass, but if you peer closer you can see through it."

"_Nak'nan'jah_," Rachel murmured. "Not glass."

"Fine," Marco agreed, not even going to attempt pronouncing the word. "Point is; the _Hawk_ has no window."

Rachel sighed heavily. "Marco. I'm _blind_. What, exactly, would I do with a window?"

"Was the _Hawk_ built for you after the accident?" Menderash asked lowly. He had been quiet, keeping to himself, (a very un-Andalite thing to do) since his argument with Marco – that no-one had yet figured out the cause for. Especially since the two always had seemed to be friends.

"Yep. I lost my first fighter in the accident; it was just ripped apart. When I got a new one, I… redesigned… a few details."

Menderash's face was a bit dark. Andalite prejudice shone in his eyes, visible for anyone who peered in closer. "You were blind. And yet they allowed you to go to battle? You, a blind… a human… a…"

"You might as well say it, Andalite," Marco growled. "I know what you're planning to call her. A _vecol_." He almost spat the word.

Rachel's expression did not change as she turned from the _Hawk_ towards them. But her eyes flashed dangerously, and Tobias's glare was even fiercer and more intense than usual.

"Stop it," Jake snapped.

Menderash's face had gone blank and Marco was glowering, watching him, prepared to intervene if he as much as opened his mouth. But then Marco shrugged. Menderash – now under glares from other than just Marco – turned away. Rachel, though, reached out and caught Marco's arm in a steel grip.

"I can talk for myself," she hissed. Tom was at her side, ears flat back and lip curled to reveal his teeth. "What are you doing, defending me? If anyone insults me, I can deal with it myself. Or I can have Tom rip their throats out."

Marco pulled free, but not without certain trouble. He glanced at his arm to see the red marks after Rachel's nails and frowned. "Sure you can deal with it. I'm not saying you can't. But that doesn't mean I'm going to sit down like a nice little human and let some pompous former four-leg treat you like dirt… just because of a handicap. Think of James and his crew, Rachel! Hey, if Ax had heard that, Menderash's head would be rolling across the floor – First Officer or not."

«You're not Ax,» Tobias commented. «And you shouldn't provoke Menderash more than you already have.»

"Menderash started it," Marco snapped. "The first thing he said to me after we arrived here was a comment about blind people – one that even _I _am not going to repeat. And that's not even half of it…" His fists clenched.

«Is this why Menderash and you argued?»

"Why else? I'm just surprised you didn't jump in to Rachel's defence, Bird-boy."

"He knows I can look after myself," Rachel spat. She spun around so quickly that Tobias almost fell off her shoulder (which he did not want to dig his talons too deeply into). Then she walked up to the _Hawk_ – sending a fierce glare at where she thought Menderash was on her way.

She placed a hand on the hull, and the door opened – hurriedly, as if it had detected her mood and decided it was not a good time to make her mad. Tom leaped into the fighter, trotted a few steps further in and dropped down on a spot that was most likely 'his'. From there, he could see what was outside the _Hawk_, and thereby so could Rachel.

"_Cer_ _y'yhan_!" a Kelbrid called.

Three of them were coming closer at a walk, carrying packs lighter than even Rachel's. It was then that Jake realised he had never seen a Kelbrid actually run. Not even Ka'an, the night before, had been running. Just walking quickly. Jogging, at the most. He wondered how fast they could run, if they ever did. Probably faster than he.

Rachel replied in Kelbrid, and a few sentences were exchanged before the Kelbrid went in their own directions, to fighters nearby. Two of them headed for one fighter, and the third to another.

"Well then," Jake said. "these are the pilots?"

"Yes," Menderash said. He had, of course, understood the conversation.

Jeanne's eyes were narrowed. "The third one… he's not an adult, is he?"

Rachel confirmed that with a nod. "The pilots are Sira'aki – the female; the one without spikes on her tail – and JaLa'an. The kid is KEdi'ir. He's coming along."

Jake looked worried. "We're not exactly going on a pleasure trip. To be honest, it's a war zone. It is not, _definitely_ not, safe. Not for kids, either. How old is he?"

"About the same age we were when we met Elfangor," Rachel supplied, smiling. "Tell me, Jake, was that safe? I remember Visser Three being a lot of things, but 'safe' was never among them."

"Does his mother know?" Jeanne wondered softly, as Jake frowned and ran out of arguments.

"Sira'aki _is_ his mother." Rachel shrugged. "You just don't understand the Kelbrid. They are warlike; the ultimate race of warriors. The only line of occupation is warrior – fighter pilot. The sooner a kid learns to fly and fight, the better. KEdi'ir is in just the right age… he's actually been accompanying Sira'aki on missions for a few years, already.

"Don't worry about it. It's too late to change the Kelbrid now; they've done this for several generations. And now that that's settled, we need to split into groups. I've got myself, and Tom, who takes up some space, and I can carry one more. Jeanne?"

"Sure," Jeanne replied.

"Why not me, Rach?" Marco grinned, eyes sparkling innocently.

"Take Jeanne," Jake said. "But we still need to split Marco and Menderash up, I think." He glanced at the two; Marco shrugged, Menderash ignored it. "So Santorelli and Menderash, you're with me. Tobias, you've got thought-speech so you can talk to the pilot. You're in the other fighter. And you get Marco."

«Pardon me for not cheering.»

But Marco grinned again. "Just you and me, huh, Bird-boy?"

"And the pilot and KEdi'ir," Jake corrected. "You're in Sira'aki's fighter, since KEdi'ir takes some place as well."

"We'll keep communications open between the fighters," Rachel assured the group. "It's a two-day trip to where the Blade ship is – Dina'amm – but we'll land on another planet for the night. Being cooped up in a fighter too long gets dull – quickly. Believe me. So I'll see you there." She disappeared into the _Hawk_ and Jeanne followed, the door closing behind them.

Marco sighed heavily, but held out an arm for Tobias to perch on as he walked over to the first fighter. Jake, Santorelli and Menderash went into the other.

Not long after the three fighters left Cava'ara's surface – one never to return.

- - -

Cassie heard her mobile phone ring. Heard it, and for a moment honestly considered ignoring it.

She was on vacation, after all. Finally. After having worked too hard for too long with too little rest she was finally on her way home for a two-day vacation.

Jake's morpher group had appeared out of nowhere (yes; out of nowhere, they were morphable, after all) and declared that they intended to help her. They had only been there for a few days but Cassie had already seen that, inexperienced or not, they were very, very good. Jake was a good teacher, it seemed.

She took her thoughts off Jake quickly. She did not want to think about him. Or any of the other Animorphs. It made her feel lonely.

The group had convinced her to take a well-deserved holiday. And while they were at the territory to guard the Hork-Bajir from the poachers that still sneaked around in the shadows, (and now had taken to kidnapping live Hork-Bajir as well) she felt safer.

A holiday was just what she needed, she thought, when the stupid mobile rang again.

She was on vacation!

Wait. It might be her parents. Officially, she was still working, and no-one except the crew at the valley knew she had left at all.

She gave up and swooped down on osprey wings to land. The mobile was carried in her talons, and now she threw it down on the ground, pushed the button with her beak, and said; «Cassie. Speak.»

Her mobile could deal with thought-speech. A technology actually granted by the Andalites, since they more and more often (although the numbers had decreased over the last month) came on vacation to Earth and needed to use phones.

But no-one spoke.

«Who's there?» Cassie demanded. Her sensitive raptor hearing could hear the slow breaths in the other end. But not one word was said, and then the call ended.

«Strange,» she said to herself. She stared at the display for a few moments; there was no caller number registered.

While she was already on the ground, she decided to demorph and remorph. Maybe a goose morph would have been better for the long flight home, but she felt more at home as osprey and the goose had had some difficulties carrying the phone – her only luggage. She only had it in case something happened and the morphers needed to reach her quickly.

She was about to take to the skies again when the mobile rang a second time. She clicked it on.

«Cassie again. Who is this?!»

Silence. Then a slightly timid voice said; "I speak for the Earth Council. My name is Jackie Cooper. I am the secretary of…"

«I know who,» Cassie said. «Did you call earlier? And say nothing?»

"No. I'm too busy for prank calls."

Cassie sighed inwardly and realised that she was right. The Earth Council had a lot to deal with. As did the team working around them. Especially, the secretary of America's representative, who – Cassie thought – made much too many attempts to run the Council. Although he was not the only one. (The problem caused a good number of 'diplomatic' debates. She just hoped it would not lead to war. She had had more than enough of war.)

«Why did you call?» she asked in a softer voice.

"As you know, we are building up an intergalactic fleet. Well, with Andalite help, the first three ships are done, and the Earth Council wants the Animorphs to take a look at them and share an opinion or two with the public."

«And I'm the only Animorph,» Cassie finished, having long since realised that the term "Animorphs" now meant exclusively her.

"As far as we know, yes," replied Jackie.

Cassie sighed. «When?»

"The day after tomorrow, if everything goes according to plan. They'll send a private jet to pick you up if you need that."

Which meant it would interrupt her precious vacation. Her two longed-for days of peace, quiet and rest.

Not a chance, Cassie thought.

And, moreover, she tried to keep out of the public as much as possible.

«I'm sorry, I don't have the time. Tell the Council I'm honoured, but… no.»

"I understand," Jackie said. "When would be a good time for you? They were very insistent, you see. I have the authority to postpone it. A week or more."

Cassie thought for a few minutes. The Earth Council had made a name of being very pushy. If they wanted something, they expected to find it served on a silver plate. She did not really care if they got angry at her, but… maybe it was not worth the trouble. She would be happy enough with her two days of vacation. If she asked them to move it two days further… then she would have her vacation, spend a day at the valley to see how things were going, and fit in her public appearance by the ships after that.

She suggested that to Jackie.

"Fine," Jackie agreed at once. "I'll tell them. A car will be waiting for you at Yellowstone Sunday morning at nine. It'll drive you to the jet, and… well, you get the picture."

«Anything else?»

"No."

«Good.»

Cassie clicked the button again, grabbed the phone in her talons and lifted off the ground by a single, powerful flap of her wings.

She flew for almost two hours until her morphing time was up. She did a quick demorph and remorph and continued flying, and continued in that fashion until nightfall, when she remorphed to owl.

Only by midnight did she reach her home. Her window stood open, as always, and she swooped in on silent wings to land on the floor, where she demorphed.

She rummaged through her closet until she found an old t-shirt to sleep in. Having changed out of her old morphing suit into that t-shirt, she quietly – careful not to wake her parents – made her way to the bathroom to wash her face and hands. Then she sneaked back to her bedroom and closed the window.

But as soon as she had done that she thought the better of it. She opened the window again.

There was a chance, however small, that one of her friends would return. In that case she did not want to shut her window and close them out.

She dropped down on her bed, drew her blankets over her, all the way up to her chin – the open window let in the cold night air – and closed her eyes to fall asleep, tired after a day's flight. She thought briefly about Ronnie, now alone in their tent in the valley, but as sleep began to make her drowsy the picture was replaced by the slow, comforting smile she had not seen for a long time; a smile found exclusively on Jake's familiar face.

- - -

Aralgo was proud to be trusted with messages to the Captain. This time, one of the Princes had sent him. The Captain was not on the bridge, for once, but in his own quarters.

That had worried Aralgo at first; only the Captain himself had access to his quarters. But the Prince had assured him that the Captain left the door open; just in case someone needed to reach him.

And yes, the door was open. Aralgo stopped at the doorway, peering inside, indecisive.

«Captain Kandion?» he called, lowly, not for anything in the world wanting to disturb the Captain more than absolutely necessary. Disturbing other _aristh_s was one thing; disturbing the Captain came close to military blasphemy.

No reply. He called a few more times before he dared step in through the door, and began looking around for the Captain. But even as he began he knew it would take time if the Captain did not come forth; the Captain's quarters were huge.

He walked around, on hooves almost silent against the steel floor after lots of practice, glancing into rooms before continuing, not calling any longer – although he did not know why. Possibly he was awed by the majestic rooms.

When the thought-speech voice reached him he stopped dead. It came so sudden.

«I do not like it,» it said lowly.

Aralgo, curious as always, sneaked closed. He glanced into the next room with only one stalk, and saw the Captain standing by a table. A hologram – a very advanced, moving, three-dimensional hologram that looked real until you realised you could see straight through it – of another Andalite was standing on the other side of the table, his tanned face deep in wrinkles.

Aralgo pulled back his stalk with a jerk. Lirem-Arrepoth-Terrouss. Lirem, Head of Council. This was probably an important discussion. And he probably had no business listening to it. Although he convinced himself of that, convincing himself to walk back out of thought-speech range was another matter.

Besides, he did not dare move, should he – tense as he suddenly was – stumble and fall.

«Neither do I,» Kandion admitted. «But what we think is irrelevant, Lirem.»

Lirem! He addressed the Head of Council by first name! 

«The Kelbrid force us to fight their way; in the shadows. And we cannot beat them there, in the dark. We need an open war. We need to pull back and thereby force them to follow. And when they come out, we can crush them.»

«You are probably right,» Lirem's voice said – without a trace of the famous harshness. The voice must originate from some communication connected to the hologram; very lifelike, highly advanced. «As always, you are right. But how do I explain to the Council, how do I justify a "tactical retreat" when our planet must not, at any cost, be threatened? The battle cannot be allowed to move a stalk-length closer than it now is. My own words were –»

«Foolish pride!» Kandion thundered. Aralgo peered around the corner again; he just _had_ to see that. You did not 'thunder' at the Head of Council. You just _did_ _not_.

Lirem – the hologram – had flinched back. Kandion had stabbed a finger at him, accusingly, and the other hand was clenched into a fist and he had slammed it down on the table. For a moment nothing and no-one moved; the unnatural silence made the skin on Aralgo's arms prickle.

Then Kandion sighed, lowering his hand. «Pride may lose us this war, Lirem, old friend,» he whispered.

«Rather to lose without pride than to win without.» But Lirem's voice conveyed more Andalite stubbornness than actual conviction.

And a dry laugh came from the Captain. «That sentence just confirmed my point. Think my words over, Head of Council.» The title sounded like a joke. A mockery, although a kindly such. «Think them over well.» With that he became quiet, looking away.

«What would you have me do?» Lirem asked finally, no longer being able to cope with Kandion's bitter silence.

«Arranging human assistance is the best thing you have done so far,» Kandion said. «Backup is needed; that was step one. Step two would be to bring the Kelbrid up from their hole and out where we can see them.»

«I have seen one of them,» Lirem spat.

Aralgo sharpened his ears – or mental ears, the ones that picked up thought-speech. Kandion simply looked interested. «When?»

«The High Quarteer. He leads the Kelbrid under the guidance of someone they call the "One", or the "Whole".»

«How did he look?» Kandion wondered.

Lirem's tail twitched. «I only saw the face. And the horns; long, movable horns that looked like weapons. At least tail-fast. But I am not sure; they were whipping almost casually, like we flick our tails. I know this, though; they reach further than tails.»

«Anything else?»

Lirem shook his head violently; a human habit Aralgo recognized only after some thought. «What I know I will tell you, my friend,» he said. «Information might save your life, when it is in danger – as it surely will be.» He smiled waveringly. «But you insisted to go.»

«I do little good at home,» the Captain said lowly.

«You will do even less good dead,» the Head of Council muttered. «Another thing I do not like. The only person in this Fleet, in the universe, I can turn to for help and you have to run off into danger.»

Kandion responded with a wry expression. «With your permission, Head of Council, remember that. And you would do the same if our roles were reversed.»

«Yes. I would.»

«But it is not so.»

«No, it is not. As long as you return home alive all will be well.» His eyes twinkled with sudden cheerfulness. «Otherwise your wife will be after my head.»

Kandion grinned back at him. «But Lirem! Sayah is perfectly reasonable.»

«Yes, she is. About as 'perfectly reasonable' as the Council of Thirteen.»

To that, Kandion flicked his tail in solemn agreement. «Then I better keep out of trouble; to save your tail as well as mine.»

«Do so.» Lirem sighed, the glimmer of a smile in his eyes already fading. «But I have urgent matters to deal with, Kandion. I will remember your words. Although now you must excuse me.»

«Of course.»

Their hands reached out over the table and their fingers locked in each other. A sign of deep friendship – with a touch of good-natured competitiveness, as their fingers strained to pull, to see who would first let go. Aralgo's four eyes went wide with disbelief. Kandion did not give the appearance of the type of Andalite who had friends. And Head of Council Lirem…

He did not realise the hologram – and force field – shaped into Lirem had been switched off and Kandion had left the room until he found himself staring up at his Captain's face… and seeing that it demanded an explanation. And a good one, at that. At least if he wanted to keep his hide.

«I… was… I… just….» Aralgo stuttered.

«Enough, _aristh_,» Kandion said. His voice was almost more amused than angry. To Aralgo's surprise – and relief. «Did you hear our conversation?»

«Yes, Captain,» Aralgo confessed. «But I did not intend to! I –»

«I said enough. Do you know who it was I was speaking to?»

«The Head of Council, Captain,» Aralgo said.

Kandion looked at him, as if measuring how trustworthy he was. How smart he was; how much he had understood of what he had heard and seen.

«I will mention this to no-one, Captain,» Aralgo promised.

Kandion laughed. «I do not expect you to. But it does not matter, _aristh_. There is no need to tell anyone, but there is no need for secrecy, either. Most likely the crew of this ship will be dead before the "great secret" gets out. Now then. What brought you to my quarters?»

Aralgo gave him the message – something about a dead-in-space Dome ship showing on scanners – and followed him out of the Captain's quarters. But there was something troubling him.

«Captain, may I ask a question?»

«You may. But if you will get an answer is another matter.»

«The Head of Council…» Aralgo began, and hesitated. «Was he… was he afraid?»

Kandion turned back towards him, a note of curiosity in his eyes that danced back and forth while he thought over his reply.

«It takes a keen eye to detect old Lirem's fear,» he said softly, in private thought-speech. «I have known him for a very long time, since long before you were born and perhaps even since before your parents were born. And sometimes I hardly see it. But yes, _aristh_ Aralgo; Lirem is afraid. If he is afraid of the Kelbrid, or for his own pride, he does not even know himself, but he is afraid. But he hides it well.»

With that Kandion made it clear that the discussion was over and Aralgo went back to his ordinary duties. But the talk between the old War-Prince and the notorious Head of Council stayed on his mind. And especially Kandion's last words.

If Head of Council Lirem-Arrepoth-Terrouss was afraid, the universe was in obvious trouble.

He had barely finished that thought and reached the corridor where the tactical simulation room – where his and the other _aristh_s' next lesson was – when the entire ship lurched violently. Before he even knew what was happening, he had been thrown off his hooves, had skidded to the side and slammed his head violently into a wall.

There was a nasty cracking sound and then things went black.


	14. How the Phantom was sent away

**14 How the Phantom was sent away**

- - -

Estrid dropped the vial she was carrying when the floor jerked away beneath her. She stumbled, but even in her surprise remembered to get clear of the falling vial and its contents so it did not fall on her skin.

The liquid fell to the floor and sizzled, letting off a purple smoke that quickly spread over the room, together with its unpleasant smell.

Estrid held her breath and pressed the cleansing button without panicking from the accident. Dropping chemicals was no longer as horrible as it had been the first few times; as long as she did not get hurt, and could clear up the mess, it was no problem. Things like that had happened before. But it was lucky this solution was not of any importance; just something she had brewed up for her own amusement. There was little else to do while the _aristh_s were in class.

A mechanical voice spoke; «Warning; air cleansing.»

The air in the room began swirling down a small shaft that opened in the floor. The purple smoke spiralled down with it. Estrid felt the whoosh as new, clean air replaced it. With a mental sigh, she began breathing again.

It was only then she realized that the ship's strange lurching should bother her. The _Daybreak_ had gravity compensators better than any Dome ships, and even on a Dome ship such a sudden jolt would be cause for alarm.

She made sure the lab was in order and then hurriedly left it to find out what was going on.

When she reached one of the main corridors she found that the ship was in chaos. Andalites were running wildly in all and any directions, the clatter of hooves almost drowning out the disorganized shouts and the orders boomed out in thought-speech. Those shouts were either not heard or simply ignored, and those orders were far from being followed. No-one Estrid asked seemed to have any clue what was happening.

She gave up trying to squeeze her way past the masses and took to shoving and pushing her way along like everyone else. But the method was not as successful for her as for the bigger, stronger warriors that surrounded her, and she found herself being pushed more than actually pushing.

Somehow she made it to the _aristh_s' quarters, but found them deserted; of course, they had lessons. A sudden impulse made her dash into her own room and grab her sac of things. The ship shuddered again and she stumbled towards a wall. She was afraid now, maybe more because she had not clue what was happening than because of the ship's strange behaviour, but wherever it originated her fear made her speed up.

She galloped through the corridors aimlessly, and every time the ship shook she sped up again.

Why did not Captain Kandion send any messages out to his crew? He had to know there was something wrong. Why did he not inform the crew what was happening?

A big fighter pilot slammed into her at top speed and they both fell in a tumble of hooves and tails. He got up first and continued without a word of excuse; normally, a long, complicated apology would have followed.

Estrid pulled herself up, relieved to find that she was still in one piece, and suddenly knew where to go; the bridge. Of course.

She hurried to a shaft that rose to the bridge. But the shaft felt unsteady; not the normal, secure ascent. She felt like it would give way any moment and let her fall. As she stepped out on the bridge, all she felt was relief.

If the ship was in chaos, the bridge was worse. A lot of the consoles were dark, not working as they should, and stressed pilots and tense warriors crowded around the few that remained.

Estrid had not even taken half of it in before she happened to look out the windows.

Andalite fighters everywhere. But around them, simply _everywhere_ around them; small, black arrowhead fighters, chasing them. Destroying them.

Kelbrid. A quick count told her they were much more numerous; thought the count was unnecessary. The outcome was already clear.

Further out there was the darkened hull of a Dome ship. But it reminded her of the images of the _Starshine_; it was far beyond repair. When she thought of how it might look on the inside, what might be found there, of how the _Starshine _had looked, she felt sick. She firmly pushed aside the little voice that added; "and the same will come to the _Daybreak_…"

«They hid inside that ship,» a voice said softly. «Inside the docking stations. They built up to a massive structure, launched a few attacks and then split up, too quickly for us to respond.»

Estrid found that the Captain was standing right next to her. She had had all four eyes aimed forwards. Now she turned her main eyes towards Kandion. «What is happening?»

Kandion laughed ruefully. «We are among those eight of ten ships that will not return, scientist Estrid,» he said. «Or, as your friend _aristh_ Larynia would put it; the fun has begun.»

«How can this be happening?» Estrid asked, disbelieving. «How can…»

«They knocked out communications,» Kandion said. «Even in-ship networks, so I cannot tell my crew what to do. They damaged our manoeuvrability, the main gravity compensators… most in-ship systems. They are hunting down our fighters, one by one, and even if I would like to send one away to find help, I cannot, because communications are down and the Kelbrid have formed a net around us to prevent anyone from escaping.»

He sighed heavily, but his face was still as strict and as coldly solid as ever before. «Our own weapons… what can they do? There is no main target to aim at. We cannot take them out one by one; too many, and our shredders are already on backup power sources. The parts of our computer that work at all are confused; it is not designed for fighting this enemy.»

«The distress beacon?»

«We have punched it down. As of yet, there is no reply. It is possibly out of order.»

«That is not supposed to happen!»

Kandion waved a hand over the chaos on the bridge. «Neither is this.»

Estrid scraped a worried hoof on the floor, and shifted her weight anxiously. «Anything I can do?»

Kandion looked pained when he responded. Pained, and bitter; perhaps considering himself to have failed in some matter. «Yes. Make sure you are dead before the Kelbrid board us. Because that, scientist, will not be pleasant.»

- - -

"There it is," Rachel said.

"How do you know that?" Jeanne wondered. "You can't see anything. I don't know how the _Hawk_ works, but as far as I understand it, there's nothing to tell you what's around us."

Rachel smiled. "Give me your hand."

Jeanne, puzzled, stood up and walked the three steps across the fighter to where Rachel stood at the controls. She held out her hand, but remembered that Rachel was blind and could not see it. She placed it in Rachel's own outstretched hand instead.

Rachel lifted it and placed it, palm down, on a gleaming black pad. A black pad where Rachel had held her hand throughout the entire trip.

Jeanne felt a creeping sensation in her palm, like a soft tickle. Only a few moments later did she notice what had changed. An entirely different world had opened to her. She could "feel" the space around the fighter. She only had to think left, and what was to her left was suddenly as clear as if she had seen it. It was "visible"; or "felt".

Straight ahead was a planet. It was not especially large, but it had two large moons and the sun – far to her right and she could still sense the heat coming from it – was enormous.

Rachel lifted her hand away. "_Now_ do you understand?" She did not ask as if she wanted an answer, and Jeanne had no time to give one before she had begun speaking in Kelbrid to the other fighters across the communications channel. Then she reverted to English and explained; "It is a simple radar, but instead of putting it on a screen the information goes straight into your mind."

They scanned the area carefully before even moving closer to the planet. The three fighters made sure nothing was anywhere near their landing spot – circling it again and again – before, finally, landing.

Although not just swooping down casually. They danced around in a tight circle, just above the clouds that hid the surface, before lowering themselves in a formation that made them land on their back ends, with their sides touching, front points fitted in to each other – perfectly balanced – to form a three-sided pyramid.

The floor of the _Hawk_ was by then leaning heavily, and both Jeanne and Tom were more or less leaning against the back wall.

Rachel found her way to the door without any problems. At a short command and gesture, Tom followed her when she leapt out. Jeanne walked – or climbed, depending on how you saw it – with some difficulty to the same door and jumped out. It was a respectable jump; a meter and a half over the back ends of the two linked fighters, and at least as far down to the ground.

The others began coming out as well. Tobias flew down to Rachel's shoulder; he had been up in the sky, scanning the area.

«The air is better here,» he reported. «Not as thin.»

"Just stay below the clouds," Rachel advised. "We don't want anyone to know we're here."

«Who's here to see us?»

"And, by the way, why all the precautions?" Marco muttered grumpily. "We've been cooped up in a fighter for about fourteen hours. But when that's finally done, we spend another hour zooming around in circles. Sira'aki tried to explain it, but her English isn't the best, you know, and we don't understand Kelbrid."

«She said '_tamni'_,» Tobias chipped in.

Rachel nodded. She had sent Tom away – or maybe just given him some free time because she did not need him – and was now finding her way with her hands and some hints from Tobias. "She had good reason."

"_Tamni_," Jake repeated, forehead in wrinkles. "Doesn't that mean 'Touched'?"

"Bingo," Rachel said. "We take precautions because we don't want them to know we're here. They know we use this spot now and then, but if they don't catch us at it they leave us alone. It's not worth the trouble to have someone hanging around waiting for us.

"This, as any other habitable planet in this quadrant of space, belongs to the Kelbrid. They call it Le'egarna. It's a small Touched colony."

With no kii-raja there to help her and no eyes of her own, Rachel couldn't see the alarmed expressions of the humans around her – except for Marco and Jake and Tobias, who were more or less used to alarming situations. But she did hear Santorelli's murmur; "A Touched colony?"

"Don't worry." She smiled. "They don't come to this island – often. They don't need it because the ground here is useless for farming, and it's not like they need the space, as they own about every planet in this quadrant of space."

"So it's safe," Menderash concluded.

"Safe enough."

Jeanne looked around. They had landed in some sort of forest; the trees were tall, but not very thick, and not that densely located. Their bark was a soft shade of grey, and smooth as satin. There were no branches on the lower half, but a complicated network higher up which gave the tree the shape and appearance of a giant mushroom. The leaves varied from gleaming white to deepest black – for some reason – and the grey-green clouds further above were barely visible.

The clouds covered what could be seen of the sky. The sun could not be seen; the surface of the entire planet was in constant shadow. Despite that enough light came through to tell that it was day. And to see.

The good news were, while they were unable to see up, no-one above could see down.

When she turned back towards the fighters a change had occurred. While the humans had been talking, two of the three Kelbrid had climbed nimbly up into the trees. They were busy slicing large branches off the trees, using their wrist blades, and throwing them down at the carefully structured pyramid of fighters.

Jeanne did not see the third Kelbrid, KEdi'ir, until he came out from inside the pyramid. He had dug a path in under one of the fighters, and was smiling broadly with his ears.

He came up and said a few words to Rachel, before climbing up the nearest tree, agile as a cat.

«You said the males have spiked tails,» Tobias recalled.

Rachel nodded.

«KEdi'ir doesn't have any spikes.»

"They haven't grown out yet," Rachel said, shrugging. "He's just a kid, still. Give him some time. But I'm hungry. How about dinner?"

Nobody could argue with that, so after they had dug around in their packs – that were inside the fighters – and brought out enough food and drink they sat down to eat. JaLa'an, Sira'aki, and KEdi'ir joined them as soon as they had finished camouflaging the fighters.

Tom reappeared about that time. He trotted silently up to where Rachel sat, pressed his nose to her arm and received a pat on the shoulder before he lay down by her side, staring hopefully at the food.

"Where's he been?" Jeanne asked.

"Hunting," Rachel replied. "He doesn't eat much for his size, but he needs a good meal now and then."

"He doesn't eat humans… does he?" Marco wondered, his voice muffled; his mouth was full of squirming _pata'oki_.

Rachel shrugged. "He hasn't taken any bites out of _me_ – yet." She grinned.

Despite that assurance Marco cast a worried glance at the kii-raja. Jeanne, on the other hand, was watching the beast with curiosity.

She was finally brave enough to reach out to pet his head. Tom reacted quickly; at once, before anyone could even see him move, he was on his feet, turned towards her and… wondering what to do. He saw at once that Jeanne was no threat – at least not to him – but it was a new experience to be petted by anyone else that Rachel – Kelbrid didn't do petting.

Rachel received a thought-picture of it, accompanied with jumbled feelings of questioning confusion, but when she just calmly continued eating and did nothing about it her kii-raja decided to let it pass as well. He dropped back down to the ground, rested his head on his paws and allowed Jeanne – wearing a triumphant smile – to stroke his neck.

- - -

Kandion sighed heavily. The scientist did not respond to his statement. But she looked more worried that before. «I am sorry I allowed you to stay on my ship,» he said.

«I chose to stay.» Estrid's eyes were a little clouded, as she was deep in thought. «But Captain, I have an idea. A way to keep the Kelbrid from boarding –»

«There is another way,» Kandion interrupted, not really believing she could even begin to understand the defence of a ship. His ship. «I can get you and the _arisths_ out. If you are still willing to leave.»

The ever-present Andalite pride in Estrid said 'no' firmly. But her fear was stronger than her pride, and she knew to be sensible – and knew what route held the greatest hope for survival. So she nodded.

Kandion made a gesture for her to follow and turned towards a drop shaft.

«Captain Kandion!» FO Thalus called, but with no trace of urgency in his voice. «We are releasing more fighters, but the Kelbrid are forcing an entry through the opened docking stations.»

«Then close the docking stations!» Kandion snapped.

«They force them open. They place their own fighters between the closing doors. It is plain suicide, but it works.»

«Seal them off from the inside.»

«Captain,» TO Ranmili said, hesitating. «All our remaining fighter pilots are in the docking stations. As well as a good quarter of our warriors. Sealing off the docking stations now would be condemning them all to meet the Kelbrid.»

«No choice,» Kandion said grimly. «The Kelbrid cannot be allowed to board the ship! Inform the warriors that they have ten seconds to withdraw; the pilots have the same to launch their fighters. Then seal the docking stations, and ten seconds later, the entire area. Every door and shaft on that level, do you hear me? And as many guards as possible outside each door!»

The Captain frowned, remembering that in-ship communications were out of order. The FO and TO were about to remind him of that when he gave them a short glance to tell them he knew, and raised his voice to call out over the bridge; «Anyone here who is fleet on their hooves?»

There were several volunteers.

«Pick one,» Kandion said. «Arrange him to bear word to the docking stations – give him thirty seconds to reach them, and the mentioned twenty for the warriors to get out. Take care of it, Thalus, because I cannot do everything myself.»

«Yes, Captain,» Thalus agreed, beckoning at a young warrior who had volunteered to step forwards.

«Ranmili and Thalus, I leave you in charge. And do not _dare _lose my ship to those Kelbrid monsters – at least not before I have returned.»

«Yes, Captain,» Ranmili agreed, though he looked curious as to where his Captain was going.

But Kandion had already turned his back to the chaos on the bridge and was making his way to and into a dropshaft, Estrid right at his heels. He led her through the ship to the tactical simulation room, where he knew the _arisths'_ lesson should have been. They had just gotten into the right corridor when Estrid pushed past him, reacting quicker to the scene than he had.

An _aristh_ was on the floor, head bleeding, not moving. The others were standing around and above him, faces twisted from different levels of nausea to something probably supposed to look calm.

Estrid made her way past the group and calmly folded her legs to lay down next to the _aristh_. For a moment Kandion wondered if she was some sort of doctor; with the ease of experience she checked for pulse, breath, and looked over the wound, examining it with light fingertips and a light frown on her forehead. The other _arisths_ were just as surprised, but she ignored them and began digging in her bag.

«What happened?»

«We don't know,» Larynia said. «We found him like this after the first shake. Trainer Sarjil left us with orders to take care of him. He had duties to attend to in the docking stations. We sent Minalea to the sickbay to get help, but we can't do anything until she returns.»

«We need to get him on his hooves again,» Kandion said. The _arisths_ stared at him briefly, only then noticing his presence. There was a set of short, nervous stalk-bows. «Quickly. Scientist Estrid? You seem to know what to do.»

Estrid blushed from the hidden compliment. «My brother Ajaht is a tail-blade fighter. He has suffered a high number of injuries.» She pulled out a bottle from her bag, lifted up one of Aralgo's hooves and carefully let a drop of thick, yellow liquid drip down on it. The liquid disappeared into the hoof, being digested.

«What was that?» Carali asked suspiciously.

«A mix of chemicals. It will wake him up – it could make a dead log jump. Stand back.» She had taken a soft hold on Aralgo's head, and when he suddenly burst into motion they realised why. A spasm ran through his body, making it shake and shiver, but Estrid made sure his head did not get hurt any more than it already was.

«What the –» he began, but then his eyes snapped shut. «Oh, that hurts. Oh…»

«Of course it hurts,» Estrid agreed briskly, already back on her hooves. «I'd be more worried if it didn't hurt. You've got a crack in your skull, Aralgo. You're lucky, though; it could have been worse. Now get up.»

«Cracked skull?» Carali echoed, eyes widened as he stared at Estrid.

«Get up?» Aralgo complained, still with his eyes closed, bringing his hands up tentatively to feel his head.

«The Kelbrid will not wait,» Kandion snapped. «So neither can we. To your hooves, _aristh_, and that is an order!»

Aralgo managed up, with some help from Estrid, Olana and Carali. Just then Minalea appeared, carrying a medical box. She stared for a moment at the scene, until Larynia trotted up to her.

«Our Captain joined us, for some reason,» she said. «No questions asked; no explanations given. And Estrid took care of Aralgo.»

«To my quarters,» Kandion said. «The docking stations are all sealed, but not _my_ docking station. You can use that one. Bring that medical box, _aristh_ Minalea, you may still need it.»

«Why are we going there?» Olana asked, but the Captain gave no reply as he set off down a corridor.

The _arisths_ and Estrid followed him in silence – except for occasional sobs from Aralgo, who was wobbling. The corridors were now deserted, and they reached the Captain's quarters without meeting a single Andalite.

Kandion pressed in the access code with nimble fingers and put his thumb on the DNA reader. But instead of the door opening, a red light flashed. «Access denied.»

Kandion frowned, repeated the process but again the red light flashed warning. «They must have locked it from the bridge,» he murmured, looking troubled.

«If I may try, Captain,» Olana offered, and stepped up. She punched in the code, the Captain pressed his thumb on the DNA reader, the red light flashed, and Olana hurriedly pressed another set of buttons, pushing Kandion's thumb against the reader again. Her fingers danced over the number pad a last time.

«There. Now try it,» she said.

Kandion did and the door opened dutifully. His eyebrows were raised as he glanced questioningly at the young _aristh_.

«That is a standard Karfar security model,» she explained. «Very simple design, but hard to overwrite. Unless you happen to know the emergency programming code – which I do.»

«Good for us,» Kandion replied. «Very good, _aristh_. Now we must continue.»

He led them through his very large quarters and down a dropshaft, into a dark, silent room; a room that from the loud echoes of each hoof-fall was very large.

«Lights on,» he ordered.

The lights flashed on obediently and the group found themselves in a docking station with a single ship. If any of them had ever been on Earth, and learned about the Earth animals, they would have compared the ship to a cobra.

It had its tail held proudly up over its body, split at the end to form twin shredder cannons. Its back end was long and perfectly formed, and the two graceful engines melted into it so you could not see where the engine ended and the ship itself began. At the front it widened and flattened out to form the main body, and the bridge, where it was more or less circular.

«This is my ship,» Kandion said, nearing a ship and placing a hand on its surface, almost affectionately. «The _Phantom_. My pride and joy. Still gleaming since you _arisths_ cleaned it.»

Carali stirred slightly, casting a guilty glance at the ship. The ship had been anything but 'cleaned'.

«But now it is yours,» Kandion finished, his hand falling away.

«What do you mean, Captain?» Olana wondered, eyeing the elegant ship, but then swivelling her stalks toward the Captain.

«Can you fly this ship, _aristh_ Olana?»

Minalea laughed. «Fly it? Give her ten minutes and she'll be able to _build_ it.»

«_Minalea_!» Olana protested.

But Kandion only looked pleased. «Good. Take care of my ship, _aristh_ Olana. I leave that to you. I am sure you can handle everything from here on, but I want to see you properly on the ship.»

«We still don't know what this is about, Captain,» Minalea reminded him.

But Larynia looked suspicious. «See us off? What, exactly, have you planned?»

«'What, exactly, have you planned, CAPTAIN,'» Kandion corrected. «I am making sure this war is brought out into the open. Your friend the scientist –» with a wry smile, he added; «and Aralgo, when he wakes up… they will know exactly what I am talking about. Also, I am making sure that my _arisths_ do not get slaughtered.

«I do not make a habit of going on suicidal deep-space missions with youngsters in my crew. Warriors being killed I can understand, possibly even accept, but _aristh_s? Not if I can prevent it.»

«He's giving us a way out,» Estrid clarified. One of Olana's stalks glanced at the older female, at the same time as she pulled worriedly at the other stalk – a habit of hers that looked very comical.

«Yes; a small chance, and too little time, but it is all I can do. Get on my ship, _arisths_ and scientist, and escape this trap.»

«What of you, Captain?» Carali asked. He and Minalea were holding Aralgo up, and although Aralgo did his best to help their weak Andalite arms were visibly straining under the weight.

«I stay with my ship and my crew as any Captain must. Together we shall hold the Kelbrid out as long as possible. When you launch the _Phantom_, the Kelbrid will find yet another way in. I shall seal that route on my way back to the bridge. We will be besieged in our own ship, but the Daybreak has good doors and walls and with some luck we shall last months.»

«But…»

«GET ON THAT SHIP!» Kandion roared, in his best Captain-voice.

They followed the order almost automatically, and as quickly as they could. Aralgo needed help just to walk up the ramp; he was barely standing, and claimed things were beginning to darken around the edges.

But Larynia, being the last to enter the _Phantom_, stopped in the doorway and looked out at their Captain.

He certainly left an impression. He was standing alone, eyes shining with years of experience, wisdom and knowledge, tail and stalks proudly raised. Any fool who saw him at that moment could not doubt what he was; a warrior, from every hair to every bone. He had lived a warrior, and would die a warrior.

Many would call that sad. Then again, many had never met him. It was not sad; somehow, only fitting.

«Time to leave,» he said. «I wish you luck.»

«No,» Larynia replied, not the least bit concerned about the fact that she was knowingly ignoring her Captain's order. «I'm not fleeing like a common coward. I'm not leaving this ship until you give me a reason.»

«There is reason enough. You have your orders, _aristh_.»

«Orders based on sentimentality. We need a purpose. A goal. What are your orders, Captain? What are we to do?»

Kandion glared, but soon realised the youngster would not give in. And he did not have the time or energy to argue about it. He sighed; it was, after all, not hard to find a purpose to give them.

«Our communications are down,» he said. «Your orders, _aristh_, are to escape into Z-space, find another Andalite ship and tell them what has happened to us – and warn them of the same. Scientist Estrid has more information. And information of the Kelbrid needs to be spread. Tell them how the Kelbrid fight, _aristh_. Tell them how their fighters fly and function.»

«We don't know any of that!» Larynia protested.

The Captain smiled joylessly. «By the time you reach Z-space, you will know.»

Larynia did not answer that. She bowed her stalks, and closed the _Phantom_'s door behind her as she entered the craft. Kandion turned and hurried away. He left the docking station, hearing the soft humming of his ship's engines as a shaft carried him upwards. Every door he passed he locked securely behind him, every shaft he disabled, every force field he turned on – all to keep the Kelbrid out.

He reached the bridge safely, to resume command over his doomed ship. But as he was too busy organizing the Daybreak's pitiful defence to do anything else, and almost all the ship's systems were malfunctioning, so he did not know if the _Phantom_ escaped.

All he could do was hope for the best.


	15. Whom suspicions will fall on

**15 Whom suspicions will fall on**

- - -

"Keep doing that and you'll lose your hand," Marco predicted when Jeanne handfed Tom with yet another piece of food – _kul'lj_.

"Shut up, Marco," Jeanne snapped. Tom was sitting absolutely still, watching her attentively, waiting for the next goody. "What do you know about kii-rajas?"

"I know that thing could kill me in the time it takes an Andalite to aim his tail. That, really, is all I need to know."

Jeanne rolled her eyes. She held out the _kul'lj_ between her thumb and two fingers and Tom took it, his razor-sharp teeth brushing harmlessly past the tips of her fingers.

It was the final stages of breakfast, but as Jeanne was not that hungry, she was giving the main part of her ration to Tom. Since Le'egarna's days did not match Cava'ara's, they had found themselves sleeping during the day, and not it was evening on Le'egarna while their internal clocks said it was morning – and time to leave.

The "pyramid", built from the fighters, had served as a tent during the night, well hidden from spying eyes above after the careful work of JaLa'an and Sira'aki.

KEdi'ir had – as well as helping the adults – dug the entrance tunnel. And with Tom asleep right in that tunnel, everyone – with the obvious exception of Marco – had felt safe enough to sleep soundly. Marco had no real faith in the kii-raja, but had slept during the trip to Le'egarna, which he said turned out to be "for the best".

Now Marco gave Jeanne a last worried glance as she bent down to rub both sides of Tom's head. Her face was dangerously close to his teeth. But Tom seemed to enjoy it and his eyes closed partly, and his ears, usually attentive, relaxed.

The last of the pack had been loaded and the last of the evidence of their visit cleared away when Rachel called for her kii-raja. Tom abandoned Jeanne without a glance back and a moment later he was again Rachel's faithful, constant companion.

Jeanne stood up, sighing heavily. Marco muttered something below his breath.

"It's just too perfect," Jake said lowly to Marco, eyes twinkling. "Rachel gave you up for a talking bird. And Jeanne gives you up for a dog-like alien! Hm. There seems to be a pattern here, my friend. I just can't seem to put my finger on it…"

Jake grinned so broadly that Marco had to punch him. But Jake pulled away and grinned even more, making Marco roll his eyes in exasperation.

Then he grinned back at Jake. "Somehow, the thought of Cassie exchanging you for a normal, boring human makes me feel _much_ better."

Jake seemed to pull back. "Well, uhm, maybe you're right." He glanced away, obviously troubled, a slightly hunted look in his eyes. "I'll see you later. On Dina'amm." He disappeared into the first fighter, Menderash and Santorelli following silently.

Marco watched him go, careful to keep the worry off his face. He had not expected Jake to react so sharply to the mentioning of Cassie.

Tobias landed on Marco's shoulder. He had been perched on Rachel's – and been fed a wide assortment of Kelbrid food – and he was still watching her when she, Tom and Jeanne entered the _Hawk_.

"Well, Bird-boy, it's just you and me again," Marco sighed.

«Seems so. Let's go. Next step; one suicidal mission on a large, dangerous Touched colony crawling with surely pay-back-hungry Yeerks.»

"You know, when you put it that way, it doesn't seem so bad," Marco muttered.

Tobias glanced at him. «Do you know that you just sounded like Rachel?»

Marco nodded grimly, climbing after Sira'aki and KEdi'ir into the last fighter. "If I do it again, please hit me."

- - -

Estrid left the small room on silent hooves. She had just made sure Aralgo's bruised head had stopped bleeding – and given him some _tarfat_ leaves from the medic kit Minalea had brought to ease the pain.

«Are we ready to launch?» she asked Olana, who was working with nimble fingers and short thought-speech commands at the _Phantom_'s computer.

«Not yet,» Minalea said. «This thing has some serious codes.»

«But, of course, she can break them,» Carali snapped, a note of sarcasm in his voice as he watched Olana work. He was edgy, which Estrid saw clearly from the way he was prancing impatiently from hoof to hoof.

«Of course,» Larynia said.

«Up to here it's been no problem,» Olana said to Estrid. «Just a few more…» her concentration returned to the consoles in front of her and Estrid took to looking around the small bridge of the _Phantom_.

There was not much to see. The consoles where there, a hologram emitter for communication, a stack of handheld shredders neatly hung on a wall, and a tiny grass field around the edges where they were supposed to graze.

«There,» Olana said finally. «Done.»

«About time,» Carali muttered. Larynia gave him a sharp glance, which he ignored. «So. Who's piloting?»

«Olana is,» Minalea informed him.

Carali ignored that as well. «I mean, Aralgo could, easily, but…»

«Olana pilots,» Larynia said firmly. «She broke the codes, so she manages the craft. Simple.»

«And what –»

«I've already made the decision,» Larynia said.

«Oh, yeah? Who appointed you to be commander?» Carali demanded, swivelling towards her, tail twitching.

«No-one. But if we fight about it, I'll win. I just wanted to spare you the humiliation.»

«No-one needs to spare me anything.» He raised his tail.

Larynia did the same and narrowed her main eyes. «You obviously don't know your own good.»

«Hey!» Estrid said, stepping in between them, glad that she was a bit older than the quarrelsome youngsters – which gave her enough authority to stop any fights from breaking out between them. «No-one's in charge here. You're all _arisths_, remember? Same rank. We'll have to settle this democratically.»

«We will,» Minalea said brightly. «As soon as you explain what that means.»

Olana rolled her stalks with a loud sigh. Suddenly they were all aware of the fact that while they had been arguing, Olana had powered up engines and prepared the launch. The ports out into space were opening.

Suddenly the momentary silence was broken when Minalea cried out; «Kelbrid!»

The Kelbrid were already on their way into the docking station. Their black, arrowhead-shaped fighters were much smaller than the _Phantom_, and by the time the cruiser could exit through the still-not-fully-open ports, dozens of the black shapes were already inside.

«Move!» Estrid barked.

Olana said something to the computer that sent the _Phantom_ forwards and out at full speed.

The Kelbrid fighters that were not busy chasing Andalite fighters, avoiding the _Daybreak_'s weaker and weaker shredders, or entering docking stations, now focused their attention on the escaping _Phantom_.

«Someone take over the weapons station!» Olana ordered.

Amazingly, no-one objected. Carali leaped over to the station and took the controls.

«Fire on anything that moves,» Minalea urged eagerly.

«I know how this works!» Carali replied, at once focused on his task.

A flash of warning appeared on screen, and suddenly the _Phantom_ rolled over sharply to the side when a blue energy beam shot past, dangerously close.

«Blue!» Olana exclaimed, fascinated enough to forget her piloting for a moment and turn her entire head to watch. «They must have reconstructed –»

«How about reconstructing our location?» Carali suggested nervously.

The _Phantom_ veered automatically out of the way of another (blue) energy beam before Olana returned to piloting, looking slightly embarrassed.

«Where are we going?»

«Into Z-space,» Larynia directed. «Quick as tails.»

«If we're going into Z-space, we need to get out of the _Daybreak_'s gravity fields,» Estrid reminded them.

«I know,» Olana said.

With Carali manning the powerful twin shredders, the computer excelling at evasive movements, and Olana piloting, the cobra-shaped cruiser sped away from the _Daybreak_. It moved amazingly agilely for its size; it was almost as manoeuvrable as a fighter. That was probably what saved it. The Kelbrid were pursuing almost feverishly, coming from all sides and blocking their route, but Olana made sure to find her way past.

They were doing just fine until the Kelbrid changed tactics. The fighters began flying in circles around the _Phantom_; first one, then two, then more and more and soon they were everywhere. A sphere of fighters surrounded them, and began to build up into a wall. The _Phantom_ was forced to slow down.

Olana watched in amazement as the still-flying fighters melted together like drops of water. «Are you seeing this?»

«This is not the time to be astounded, Olana!» Larynia said. «Carali, if you're going to take care of weapons, then fire at something!»

«On _what_?» Carali demanded. «Which fighter, exactly? Pick something to fire at!»

«Anything,» Estrid said. «Don't think tactically now, there's no time. Just keep them worried.»

Carali rolled his stalks but did as he was told.

«Olana, order maximum burn and steer away from the _Daybreak_. We are bursting out.»

«Through the fighters?» Minalea exclaimed. «That's crazy! No adult would ever allow it.» Her eyes twinkled. «I like it.»

«Get back against the wall,» Olana advised. «We're in for some serious acceleration. Computer? All energy diverted to engines. Maximum burn.»

The cruiser trembled for half a second as the massive energy amounts were diverted, and then shot forwards with a blinding flash of light from its engines.

Most of the Kelbrid fighters did not get out of the way in time. Some did. But a lot of them would be in need of heavy repairs. The sound as they hit and scratched against the front hull of the _Phantom_ was horrible.

«Z-space!» Estrid called. «Now!»

Olana scrambled up – as the rest of them she had been thrown back when the _Phantom_ had shot forwards, since even the energy in the gravity compensators had been diverted – and leaped back to the consoles. She programmed it as quickly as she could… then everything went silent.

The white, almost unnatural silence of Z-space.

«Cancel maximum burn,» Olana said. «Restore energy balance.»

«That was close,» Estrid commented, getting up to her hooves, feeling gravity return.

«Yes.» Minalea's eyes were shining. «Can we do it again?»

«Lucky for us this isn't a fighter,» Carali said lowly. «Those crashes would knock out a fighter three times over.»

Olana sighed, grabbing the edge of the consoles with her weak fingers. She was visibly trembling. «Damage report.»

«Limited damage to front hull and shredders,» a computer voice replied dutifully. «Second engine overheated. Total energy levels at 34. With backup energy they can be raised to 67.»

«Anything else?» Olana asked the computer.

«A crew of six overpasses life support limits. Limits are set at four Andalites. A crew of six, with energy supplies down, can be supported for only…»

«Two days,» Olana finished, gloomily doing the familiar maths in her head. «Another day if we divert energy from some other major energy consumer. Engines, or weapons. Take your pick.»

«So all we have is two days,» Larynia concluded.

«And what are we supposed to do?» Carali asked. «We have no Prince. Not even a warrior. And we have no orders.»

«That's not… exactly true,» Larynia said, brightening. «We have orders. From Captain Kandion.»

«Oh, great,» Minalea muttered.

Larynia ignored her and continued; «We are supposed to find another ship and tell them what has happened. And tell them what we know about the Kelbrid.»

«So we should start looking for another ship,» Minalea sighed. «And hope to find one within two days.»

«Otherwise we'll have to land on some planet. I could patch up that damaged engine and fix the hull in a day; energy will be restored in two.» Olana glanced at the consoles. «But before that, in this area of space, I think I'll make a few changes in the programming. To make sure the Kelbrid cannot break through it and learn how our systems work – in case we are captured.»

«If they even find us,» Larynia said. «Do they have Z-space travel?»

«Who knows?» Estrid said. «They should, logically. But don't forget; the Yeerks are out here, too.»

Larynia gave her a look, eyebrows raised questioningly, but expression warning.

«They _could_ be here,» Estrid corrected, reminded that the others knew nothing of the _Intrepid_ Situation, or the suspected Kelbrid-Yeerk alliance. It was hard to remember to keep it secret – hard to see a reason for doing so. «They could be anywhere.»

Carali sighed. «Let's hope we find a friendly ship before anything finds us. And until then, I'm going to see if Aralgo is still alive back there.»

- - -

After another long day cooped up in a Kelbrid fighters, they finally neared – bit by bit – their goal; Dina'amm.

KEdi'ir had taken out a small bag containing stones in different colours and sizes. It was some sort of game, and he eagerly tried to explain to Marco and Tobias how it worked. Some mix between marbles, dice and playing cards.

He took out a stone at the time, held it up, and said a name. A good number of stones were semi-precious, as far as Marco could tell, and had beautiful colours and shapes. Some were clearly jewels, but KEdi'ir treated them all like the toys they were to him and the rest of the Kelbrid society.

But it was when KEdi'ir brought out a diamond that Marco's eyes went wide.

It was unevenly shaped, but most of the sharp edges were grinded down. The lighting in the fighter generally left a lot to be desired, but the diamond sparkled bravely where it lay in the young Kelbrid's hand.

It was about the size of a chestnut; one of the bigger stones in KEdi'ir's bag. It would have been worth about twice Marco's fortune back on Earth. Which he was well aware of.

KEdi'ir looked curiously at the strange look on Marco's face. Tobias glanced worriedly at his friend.

«Marco? Stop staring like that. You're starting to scare me.»

"That… that's… a _diamond_," Marco breathed, hands half stretched out. He swallowed, his throat suddenly dry.

«Yeah. I know. But I'm a hawk, and personally, my greatest concern is where my next meal is coming from, and keeping other hawks off my territory. A diamond would help me with neither. A good mouse, though…»

"Tobias; think. If…"

«Don't tell me you're planning to steal it!»

"What do you think I am, some kind of lunatic?"

«You certainly look the part.» Tobias looked briefly at the diamond, and then up at KEdi'ir's questioning face. «That stone is worth a lot on our planet,» he explained, knowing his thought-speech could be understood.

KEdi'ir shrugged. "_Garih_," he said; the Kelbrid word for stone, they had figured out earlier. He held up the diamond. "_Garih_." He held up a grey pebble. "_Garih_." He shrugged again, understanding what Tobias had said if not why.

Marco tore his eyes away from the priceless diamond in a display of willpower.

KEdi'ir emptied out the rest of the stones on the floor and picked up half a dozen more diamonds, of varying shapes and sizes. Again Marco's eyes went wide. They went even wider – if possible – when KEdi'ir pressed the first stone into his hand.

Marco stared at it. Swallowed, feeling how heavy it was, already counting in his head exactly how much it was worth. Then he sighed heavily and tried to give it back.

KEdi'ir pulled his hands out of reach and shook his head, his ears leaning outwards in a smile.

«Can he keep it?» Tobias asked disbelievingly, and KEdi'ir nodded, still smiling. He motioned at the remaining stones on the floor of the fighter and said something that probably meant "I have enough stones."

Marco shone happily, clutching the diamond. Then Sira'aki called for their attention and pointed out the window at a large, red and green planet, filled with spots of gold and covered in part by white-green fluff; clouds.

"Dina'amm," she said softly.

KEdi'ir's half-playful expression vanished at once and he gathered the rocks back into the bag. He stuffed the bag back into his pack – yes, even he had a pack – and hung it over his shoulder with a movement so easy it indicated he had done the same thing many times before. He joined his mother by the controls, and they began chatting lowly in Kelbrid.

Marco glanced out through the window. "Okay, I don't see it."

«See what?»

"The Blade ship. I don't see it. So can we go home?"

«No. Marco, how about using your brain? Of course we won't be landing near the Blade ship. That would be plain suicide.»

"Sounds like Rachel's type of plan. Strange that we don't, then, since she _is_ kinda in charge."

Tobias laughed. «Yeah. It does. But she does have _some_ sense, and we won't be seeing the Blade ship until after we've landed.»

"You know what? I really don't mind."

- - -

Jakari closed the storage again, after having checked it a second time. He could barely believe their luck; it was filled with food. Proper Andalite food.

He should have been thrilled. But he was not. Far from it.

No, there was something about this sudden freedom that made him very suspicious. He would think twice about setting his hooves down before he had figured it all out.

It made no sense. Just letting them go, fine, but supplying them with a cruiser? Giving them supplies to last weeks – even months – in space? No; not likely.

The One, and the Yeerks – and the Kelbrid too, probably – would have killed them on the spot if they did not want to bother about keeping them alive. It was no wonder Jakari had a bad feeling. His warrior-instincts screamed at him, and not without cause.

He also felt alone. Arifur and Langur had, as soon as Arayah had removed their shackles and they had morphed away their wounds, gone to stand in the back and fallen asleep where they stood. They were exhausted; but Jakari was not quite clear on why. Rafatal was also in the back, but he was dwindling between a half-aware raving and unconsciousness. Arayah had given him some sort of liquid; claimed it was an antidote, said that Rafatal had been poisoned.

«_Primlar_ poisoning,» she had murmured, before slipping away, avoiding to meet his gaze.

Arayah. The biggest mystery of them all. She had always been a head-on, strong-willed warrior, backing down to no-one and proud enough to meet the gaze of even their legendary Captain.

Now she snuck around the ship like a youngster who had done something wrong and waited to be scolded. Harshly. He had tried to start a conversation, just to pass time, but she had been startled when he called for her, her face had gone instantly pale, and she had kept stalks and face aimed away, hooves raised and lowered uneasily, and almost fled as soon as she got half a chance.

Jakari had given up trying to talk to her and had explored the ship instead. Now he steered back towards the bridge. Langur was by far the most capable pilot of the group, but since he and Arifur were asleep, Rafatal was sick, and Arayah had retired to her quarters, Jakari was the only one left to take care of the ship.

The only problem was, since none of them had any idea where they were, they had no idea where to go. Or how to get there.

Jakari sighed. They might be free – however long that would last, and however it had come to at all – but he was not going to do any cheering until they had all landed safely on their home world. All five of them.

- - -

Arayah felt as if she was going insane. Perhaps she was; she had never gone insane before (that she knew of) so she had nothing to compare to. Three forces were at work in her mind; the One's orders and wishes, countering her own, and pure desperation – because she knew which side would win.

She had left her quarters and found herself in the storage room. She had opened a niche in the wall and was watching the four handheld dracons lying on a shelf. And not watching calmly; her hands were shaking, her stalks jerking back and forth.

The One's last order was circling like a relentless tornado in her head, filling every corner of it, easily overpowering anything that stood up against it. Even thinking about ignoring it was impossible. Defying it was worse. There was no choice.

No choice. No: not this time.

"You will be the only Andalite on that cruiser to return home alive. And you will dispose of the others yourself."

That was how it would be. Wild-eyed, she felt the shiver along her spine, began feeling sick at what she knew she would do. Had to do.

She had a chance right now. It would be too easy. She would take a dracon. Walk to the bridge. Shoot Jakari; he was there, piloting. And she was a good shot. So even if both Arifur and Langur awoke, she would have shot them both before they came close enough to stop her. And Rafatal… he was getting better, but he was still helpless.

She shuddered as she remembered how she had honestly considered pouring out the antidote instead of giving it to Rafatal. It had taken a lot of convincing to avoid doing so. And if –

She had already taken a dracon from the shelf when she stopped herself.

No, she thought. Not yet. Not yet.

The order burned in her mind, urging, commanding. Arayah closed her eyes.

«Not yet,» she murmured privately to herself. «There is time. Not yet. Please, not yet. I can kill them later. I can…» she stopped, realizing what she had just said.

It was getting stronger. Each time she delayed it – delayed, not stopped – it got stronger. If she kept fighting it, it would win. It would take over more of her mind. Take over more… and more… and more. And finally… she would have nothing left.

With will-force she did not know she had, she put the dracon back on the shelf, closed the niche and left the storage on legs that threatened to fold beneath her.

She had evaded danger this time. Next time it would not be so easy.


	16. How to hide a fighter

**16 How to hide a fighter**

- - -

If the careful scanning of Le'egarna's island had been bad, the scanning before their landing on Dina'amm was worse. When the fighters finally dared land, over an hour – maybe even two – had passed. Patrols of both Yeerk bugs and Kelbrid arrowhead fighters had been evaded, and a reasonable hiding place had been found.

They swooped down, one by one, with the smaller and quicker _Hawk_ last.

Rachel and the three Kelbrid had been on Touched colonies before and knew the procedure. They almost herded the remaining crew out of the fighters, hurriedly threw out the packs and searched the area for eventual enemies.

When Rachel, Tom, KEdi'ir and JaLa'an came back from spying Sira'aki had more or less finished organizing camp.

Rachel walked up to her and decided to go right to the point. She had, even before the mission started, decided to send the pilots back once they reached Dina'amm.

"You Kelbrid can go back now," she said. "We'll manage from here."

Sira'aki turned towards her, surprised, her head on the side and a quizzical look in her black, white-pupilled eyes. "Are you asking us to leave, _cer_ _y'yhan_?"

"I'm not asking anything, Sira'aki, you know me better than that. I'm _telling_ you. Go back to Cava'ara and report to Ka'an. Send my best."

"And if we refuse, _cer_ _y'yhan_?"

Rachel's eyes flashed dangerously. "You've never refused an order in your life, Sira'aki. Now is not a good time to start."

"Remember that you are not really a hornmaster," Sira'aki countered. "As it is, our only allegiance to you comes from respect for your courage – and for _cer _Ka'an's belief in you. But aside from that you're a foreigner, a non-Kelbrid, a _garek_, and Kelbrid never have taken orders from _ga'arekh_."

Sira'aki was joined by JaLa'an, and KEdi'ir stopped a few meters behind, realising that the conversation was for his mother and the other pilot to deal with.

"The _cer y'yhan _plans to send us back," Sira'aki said to JaLa'an.

JaLa'an shook his head. "_Cer_ Ka'an gave us a task," he said to Rachel. "That was to make sure you and your friends reached Dina'amm safely. We all know how he hates losing troops, and perhaps you are correct; perhaps it is for the best if we go back. But I refuse to think that the _cer_ _y'yhan_ will be pleased if we leave any allies in danger. Especially not you."

Sira'aki agreed to that, giving a quick nod. "My pride would not allow it. I am staying, _cer_ Rachel, with or without your permission – but hopefully with your respect."

The use of Rachel's pretended title signalled that even though Sira'aki would not agree to leave, she would take orders if she stayed. "_Cer_" was a short form of "_cer_ _y'yhan_", meaning "leader", or "master". Among the Kelbrid, a title was a title, and intended to be used – the more often the better.

JaLa'an smiled, his right hand lightly touching his left shoulder – the Kelbrid equivalent of a bow. "We are staying to make sure you return safely as well, or until you no longer have use for us. We know this place better than you do, _cer_ _y'yhan_, and we know the Touched. We will not be a burden."

"I never said you would be," Rachel muttered. "I just suggested that we might manage on our own."

"We don't doubt that," Sira'aki assured her. "But the best make mistakes, and it can't hurt to have three extra pairs of horns – just in case. Now that we are past that, there is the matter of the fighters…"

Rachel nodded, giving up her attempt to convince the two. On the matter of pride, or honour, which Sira'aki had brought up, no Kelbrid could be convinced a millimetre in any direction – she knew from experience.

Rachel left Tom to Jeanne and disappeared into Sira'aki's fighter. Before Jake, Tobias, Marco, Jeanne, Santorelli or Menderash had any time to react, the fighter lifted from the ground and flew away. Tom watched it leave with some worry in his dark golden eyes, but stayed dutifully at Jeanne's side, where he had been left.

«Okay, where is she going?» Tobias demanded.

The Kelbrid said nothing, and the fighter continued, flying close to the ground at a low speed and holding a steady course.

«I'm going after her,» Tobias announced, lifting his wings and soaring up on a puff of wind.

"Tobias, get back here!" Jake called. Although there was a time when Tobias might have listened, and even obeyed, the only reply this time was a sharp "_Carfi'e_!" from JaLa'an, and Menderash's automatic translation; "Silence!"

- - -

«As soon as he gets rid of the worst of the concussion, we'll have him morph the damage away,» Estrid said – for what was definitely not the first time. It was the morning – according to their internal Andalite clocks – of the second day. They had found no ships, and had now fallen back to searching for a suitable planet.

«Why not now?» Carali demanded – not a first, either.

Estrid sighed. «First of all, he has a very bad, nasty headache – not surprising,» she added dryly. «Which makes it close to impossible to focus – at least not enough to morph. Secondly, I gave him _tarfat_ against the pain. _Tarfat_, as you probably know, has a few side effects… such as lessening concentration ability. At the moment Aralgo wouldn't be able to focus enough to bring his hand up to his face.»

«At the moment he's asleep.»

«Another excellent reason. Carali, do you have any experience in medicine? Or science, for that matter?»

«No, but –»

«Then shut up and let me handle this.»

Carali blinked, surprised. Estrid, as far as he had gotten to know her over the last day, rarely tried direct confrontations. She disliked arguments, it seemed, and preferred to lay out her opinions softly instead of booming them out for all to hear.

But maybe there were limits, after all.

«Yes, scientist,» he said lowly, only half aware of it. Months of military training left imprints.

At least on him.

Minalea, on the other hand, had spent her time devising new traps and pranks – and testing them. Therefore, walking in the _Phantom_ was never completely safe. Nothing (well, almost nothing) was directly harmful. Not really. But after tripping over a wire for the seventy-ninth time, or finding that the door to your quarters suddenly opens and closes much too quickly for anything to pass by, or walking straight into a force field that you could swear had not been there the moment before, you grow very careful of your step.

And very irritated.

Estrid returned to her own quarters and Carali found Larynia and Olana on the bridge, discussing some planet that had shown on scanners.

«No signs of intelligent life,» Olana said, pointing with her small hand at a word on a hologram filled with bunches of numbers and words that made no sense at all unless you knew what to look for – which, also, was the point.

«That doesn't guarantee that there is none,» Larynia replied. «If a ship of this size, from this range, scanned our planet there'd be no signs of intelligent life. They can easily be hidden.»

«How much time do we have?» Carali wondered.

«Six, maybe eight hours,» Olana replied. «I have cancelled out energy from food, because our priorities are water and first of all air. We'll have to go hungry until we find somewhere to land. But that should give us the extra hours.»

«Maybe there is a way to figure out if this planet in inhabited after all,» Larynia said thoughtfully. «If we manage to reach the surface without being attacked by hostile fighters, it's probably safe.»

«But that's an all-or-nothing test,» Carali commented.

Larynia flicked her tail to the side, unconcerned. «We're pretty close already. We've encountered no patrols. No enemy ships at all. There are no satellites… no radio waves detected… no lights from the planet's surface. So far, our chances are good.»

«How far is it to the next habitable planet?» Carali asked.

«A nine-hour trip,» Olana said.

«That makes things easier,» Larynia said. «Gives us less of a choice. We're landing – unless a friendly ship appears in the nearest seven hours.»

«So we wait until the last moment?» Olana said, and Carali agreed; «Bad idea.»

«Why?»

«First of all,» Carali said, with a certain note of smugness. «Hanging around here leaves us out in the open. Practically inviting to attack. And a lot of hostile ships will have plenty of time to find us.»

«As they will on the planet,» Larynia countered.

«Yes, but less of a chance –» he rolled his stalks when Larynia began protesting. «Oh, just admit you're wrong!» he snapped. «If –»

«More importantly,» Olana said, cutting both of them short. «The less energy we have, the longer it will take to reload the rest. Wasting these seven hours will lengthen the loading by half a day. Do we really have half a day to waste?»

Larynia glared at her, and at Carali, but then gave up, seeing the logic in the argument. «Fine. As you wish; I'm convinced. We land _now_.»

«You actually admitted you were wrong. Good.» Carali grinned with his stalks. «See, that wasn't so hard, now was it?» He stretched out a hand to pat her on the shoulder.

She pulled away, sending him a warning stalk-glare. «It was a one-time occurrence. Land the ship, Olana. I'm going to make sure Minalea isn't causing too much trouble.»

«Bet she is,» Carali said, following as she left the bridge.

«Bet she isn't. She knows better.»

«I don't think so. Bet you're wrong.»

«Carali, haven't you learned? I'm never wrong.»

«Wrong again,» Carali laughed, only to find himself sprawled on the floor when his front hooves were slammed out from under him by Larynia's blade.

- - -

Tobias followed the fighter. He flapped his wings like mad for more speed. He was in luck; there was a good draft heading in the right direction, otherwise he would never have been able to keep up.

Rachel steered the craft out from the protection of the trees and into an open area. She headed out over a vast, almost circular area, filled from one end to the next with a golden, constantly shifting and sparkling material.

Water, Tobias realised. A lake. Although something in it made it sparkle like gold.

He did not follow the fighter out over the lake, being tired and feeling the strain in his wings as it was, and instead landed on a branch near the edge of it, from where he had a good view of where the fighter went. He stayed there until the fighter suddenly tipped its nose downward, and plunged towards the lake.

Then he raised his wings and flapped madly for altitude, calling «Rachel! There's a lake! You'll crash!»

But the fighter's door opened, and Rachel dove out, with all the elegancy of the gymnast she was. The fighter continued down under the surface – door again closed – and disappeared into the deeps. Rachel disappeared under the surface as well, but soon reappeared and began swimming in towards land – the direction she had come from.

Or at least so she thought. It was, without doubt, close enough, but she would save time if she had headed a bit more to the left.

Tobias settled back down on his branch and waited for her. When she came into thought-speech range, he said; «You scared me half to death.»

"Sorry." Rachel came out of the water, shook it off and ran her fingers through her hair once or twice in an effort to dry it. She tried to localize herself, where she was standing on the middle of the beach. That she was blind was suddenly, maybe for the first time, obvious. She looked a bit confused. Disoriented. The expression did not suit her at all.

«Wait,» Tobias said. «I'll help.» He fluttered down to land on her shoulder, feeling much better once he was there. Rachel's sudden nose-dive with the fighter had worried him. «There. Walk. Do you know the way back?»

"Like my own pocket," Rachel replied, smiling, starting to walk. "I did my best to memorize it – the fighter helped me. And besides, Sira'aki will be sending Tom to find me any moment. And he'll know the way."

«Why did you do that, anyway?»

"Do what?"

«With the fighter.»

"Oh. I hid it. We don't want the Touched to get it while we're busy."

«I guess we don't. But any decent scanner could tell it's down there.»

"Yep. But Kelbrid can't swim. In face, they're terrified of water deeper than their ankles. And kii-rajas are even worse – that's why I had to leave Tom. So they'll know it's down there, but they'll leave it alone. Cause they don't dare go after it, and it isn't worth the trouble to have the Yeerks fetch it."

«Tom's coming,» Tobias said.

"Perfect timing, as always," Rachel said, stretching out a hand. Tom pressed his nose into it and then took his usual place by her side, with a look on his face that could only be described as relief. "Let's go," Rachel said, grabbing a hold of Tom's tail and following easily as he set off at a loping run.

Tobias lifted into the air and flew instead. «Why the hurry?»

"We need to hide all three fighters and be far away from our landing place before the Touched start wondering about the three unlicensed landings. And hiding the fighters is my job, so I've got no time to waste."

- - -

Again and again Arayah found herself standing in the storage, watching the four dracons. She never knew how she had gotten there, or how long she had been there, but each time it was harder to leave.

This time it was impossible. She stood for over half an hour, the One's last order burning like a bonfire in her thoughts, making everything else dim down until it was puny and insignificant.

"You will go through with it, you know," the One's voice said suddenly, in her mind. When she jerked in shock, he laughed dryly and added; "Don't be so surprised. I'm watching you, my little Andalite. Of course I can talk to you."

He sighed, still only a thought of her own mind. Even with thought-speech you could tell it came from someone else; the One's thoughts were a part of her, as much as her own.

"You've been very bad, Arayah," he continued. "Trying to evade this. But I am still proud of you – at least you did a good job at it."

«I cannot kill them,» Arayah whispered. «Cannot.»

"Oh, but you can," he purred. "And will. Grab a dracon."

She did.

"And go finish this. Now."

«Strategically, this is not a good time…» Arayah began weakly, remembering that Langur, Arifur and Jakari were all on the bridge – and awake. The odds were against her. Against. She strengthened that picture in her mind until –

"Stop that!" the One barked, annoyed. Then silenced, although she could feel his fuming presence in the back of her mind. "You're not fighting me to win," he said, after what felt like a long time. "You know that, Andalite. You're only fighting so you can tell yourself you tried."

He laughed at her, but cut himself off. "NOW GET TO THAT BRIDGE!"

- - -

There was no warning. Jakari only knew what was happening when he heard the 'tseew' of the dracon.

He, Arifur and Langur had been standing by the consoles, with all four eyes either watching the consoles or the unfamiliar space outside. Not keeping a stalk swivelling was against the very basis of warrior training. If they had not been so deep in worried thoughts about where they were they might have avoided dropping the habit. But they shrugged it off, thinking there was anything to fear on their own ship.

Behind them, Arayah snuck slowly and silently through the corridor. She took a place where the corridor widened into the bridge and, still not making a sound, prepared to fire. Nothing betrayed her presence.

Not until the shot rang out. Not until Jakari – and Arifur and Langur – heard the TSEEW and Jakari felt a burning pain between his shoulder blades. He let out a piercing thought-speech cry and fell forwards.

At any higher power the shot would have killed him, burning off his spine and lungs. At any closer range it would have done the same. But by some twist of fate, luck, or even irony, the dracon was set to medium power. Neither the One or Arayah had even considered that possibility.

Jakari fell, landing sprawled over the consoles, managing to bruise almost every part of him that was not already burned by the dracon. But he was alive. And aware enough to begin morphing the damage away. And Arifur and Langur had spun around to face the danger.

It took them a few moments to get over the shock of Arayah's pain-stricken but ice-cold and determined face. Of her holding a dracon and aiming it at them.

It took Arayah half as long to register what was wrong with the dracon, set it to high power, and aim it again.

When the two warriors had arched their tails up and prepared to charge, finally realizing that she was – in fact – set to kill them, her finger was already beginning to pull the trigger.

- - -

"Mom, it's Cassie!" Jordan cried. "She's on TV!"

Naomi sighed heavily, but was thankful for the excuse to look up from her work. "Has there been another killing in the valley?"

She heard her daughter laugh. "No, silly, it's about the ships. Humanity's new fleet. Every TV-station in the world is sending live about those stupid ships."

"Yeah," Sara agreed. "Even MTV:s gone boring on us."

Naomi rose slowly from her chair and left the room to join her two surviving daughters in the living room.

Cassie really was on TV. And it was not another moral lecture, sent from the valley. Cassie was standing beside a lot of sober, important-looking people, among them a good number of well-known political faces, and was holding a speech about the ships. Security people were visible everywhere around.

Naomi smiled, knowing well what Cassie truly thought about holding speeches. Fortunately, the girl had sense enough not to let that show on her face as she spoke. Her words, carried live to the world, were well rehearsed and she did not falter once. Naomi sat down on the couch to listen, pushing painful memories of Rachel firmly out of her mind before they got too good a hold.

She listened with half an ear to what Cassie was saying. The girl was standing in clear view, wearing her normal clothing, not having bothered about dressing up for the occasion. It made her stand out clearly from the people around her. She was looking out over what probably was an audience of journalists and important people. She was just raising her voice to wrap up what she was saying –

Then a single shot rang out.

It hit Cassie.

No time to react, no time for a second look, before the Animorph disappeared from the TV's screen. The camera shook, and the scene quickly got panicked.

The transmission was cut and a news reporter appeared on the screen, excusing the sudden cut and explaining this and this and that and that. The main thing was that they had received orders to stop sending. They would, however keep the TV audience up-to-date about events as best they could.

Naomi did not listen further than that. She turned to her side, to look down at Sara's horrified face. Jordan sat further away, and was also staring at her mother, with an almost identical expression.

"Mom…" Sara said slowly. "They didn't… they didn't shoot Cassie… did they?"


	17. At the end of games

**17 At the end of games**

- - -

Cassie had no time to register where the bullet hit before she had started morphing by pure reflex. That was what saved her. The bullet had pierced the side of her lung, barely passing her heart, but going straight through a number of blood vessels on its way as if they were not even there. Her lungs would have filled with blood and killed her in minutes – if she had not been morphable.

As it was, she made her internal organs morph first and let the rest follow. She gave little thought to what she morphed, but ended up as an osprey.

Only when her eyes – now raptor-sharp – came back into focus did she notice the chaos around her. Three soldiers were standing shoulder-to-shoulder around her, protecting her, eyes alert, constantly scanning their surrounding like an Andalite's stalks, weapons drawn and half-raised, ready to be aimed and fired. Another was on his knees next to her, demanding in an authorial and remarkably calm voice to know if she was okay.

Cassie was a bit touchy from the shock of being shot, which was combined with suppressed anxiousness about facing that large an audience – alone, this time. So she snapped at the soldier in thought-speech that of course she was okay, she'd morphed, hadn't she?!

Then she brusquely told them all to get out of her way and lifted from the ground. She was relieved to get rid of the wound, and be back in an functional body, and the real danger was probably passed. But someone had shot at her. And hit her, too.

She wasn't planning on letting them get away and try again later.

The crowd under her roared with approval as she grimly flapped her way up over it. Fists were raised in greeting and she heard a group of people chanting her name, over and over. They were all urging her on. Urging her to get back at whoever had fired the gun.

She ignored them and scanned the audience for where the shot had come from. Every eye was on her. Every voice was raised in a shout. If the would-be murderer was smart, he or she would be in the audience, doing the same.

Then again, if the shot had been fired from the audience, the people around would have noticed it and probably overpowered the assassin in rage before there was half a chance to get away. She was pretty sure not many would allow the attempted murder of an Animorph to go unpunished.

Cold logic led her to the edge of the crowd. Her osprey eyes found the one person not focusing his eyes on her, not roaring in approval, not urging her to find the guilty party and strike back.

He was a middle-aged man, brown haired, wearing a leather jacket he held closed with an almost cramp-like grip. His eyes were pasted on Cassie as if with glue, but if he thought he could hide the worry – the fear – in them he was wrong.

There was a slight bulge under the jacket; probably where the gun was hidden.

Cassie knew hanging around was never a good idea. She swooped down lower, slowly, and, suddenly, turned her beak downwards and dove with a fierce raptor cry.

The man's face went instantly white. He fumbled inside his jacket for his gun, already pulling away, already sneaking away from the crowd.

Cassie's talons caught his face before his hand caught the gun. He let out a scream, his hands flew up to ward her off, but he lost his balance and fell.

The crowd had cleared an area around them, as if it was a ring for fighting, and somehow the press had already reached them and was busy snapping photos.

Cassie landed, began demorphing, and even before she was fully human she began the morph to wolf. The assassin was on the ground, panic in his eyes, trying to aim his gun. But her face was already wolf, and she snatched the gun out of his hand with a snap of her jaws. She dropped the gun behind her and landed on his chest, snarling, and sat down heavily, bared teeth, fur bristling, telling him to keep still.

In thought-speech, she summoned security. They arrived, took over the prisoner, and she demorphed. When she was done she studied him closer, where he was held by two grim-faced soldiers, and asked; "Who are you? And why did you try to shoot me?"

"I'm a voluntary," he spat back. "Voluntary Controller. And you ruined my life! I had it all; and all thanks to the Yeerks! You'll be dead, Animorph! I'm only warning you! There are others! They'll come after you, as I did! You'll be dead! You'll –"

The crowd roared in anger, but Cassie raised her hands to ask for silence and they hushed at each other. It took a few minutes to get total quiet. Except for the prisoner's mad screaming.

"You'll be dead!" he shrieked. "You heard me?! We'll see you defeated! We'll –"

Cassie turned her back to him, having heard what she wanted to hear, seeing no need to listen to his mad ravings. The audience started roaring again, crying for blood. She made her way through the crowd, pushed passed the press, ignoring their questions, ignoring the cameras that flashed mercilessly in her face.

- - -

All Jake and his group, once the three fighters had been hidden, could look forward to was a long, boring walk. Although a more correct word would be 'run'. The Kelbrid set a high pace already from the start and intended to stick to it. Tom kept up without a problem, and Rachel showed that spending so much time with the aliens had worked wonders on her endurance. Tobias flew, or rode on someone's back or shoulder, and had no problems either. But the remainder of the group had not morphed – for some reason that later seemed very insignificant and had to do with having to figure out how to carry the packs – and very quickly got very exhausted.

By the time Jake realised how fast and far the Kelbrid actually planned for them to go, he, Marco, Santorelli, and Jeanne were all so tired that even though morphing might avoid them to get more tired it did little good. They would still start out exhausted.

He ordered halt, threw the pack (that he could have sworn had gone at least ten kilos heavier since that morning) down on the ground and sank down against a tree, breathing hard.

And loudly. JaLa'an sent him a sharp glance.

"It's bad to stop halfway," Jeanne commented sensibly. "we should keep going."

"We're going to stop soon, like it or not," Marco panted. "Either it's now, or it's when someone collapses."

Menderash – who had ended up last – stumbled in to join the group and it was clear that only his Andalite stubbornness held him up. When he saw that the others were resting her almost fell down to his knees and closed his eyes, hiding an exhausted expression in shaking hands. He was used to being human by then, but it was the first time he had run further than a couple of steps, and his new body was badly out of shape.

"Tired?" Rachel guessed, herself still standing. The only human still standing. Except Jeanne, beside Rachel… although she was leaning on Tom, so it didn't count.

"No, we can't wait for the thousand metre dash," Marco snapped sarcastically. "Of course we're tired. We've been running for, how long? Ten hours?"

"Three hours and forty-two minutes," Menderash corrected.

"Shut up, Andalite."

Menderash glared up. "If only you learned to count I would not have to correct your mistakes, _human_."

"You still don't. In fact, if you do, I'll –"

"Hush!" Jake barked. Menderash and Marco's voices had been gradually rising. JaLa'an's ears were circling on their stalks, searching for sounds. When the Kelbrid relaxed again Jake let out a sigh of relief. "Don't forget where we are," he ordered. "And don't forget what we're here to do."

"You should have morphed instead of staying human," Rachel stated. "Keeping pace with Kelbrid isn't easy."

"Oh, great, now you tell us," Santorelli said, rolling his eyes.

"We need a break," Jake said. "Or we won't get another kilometre. We need to relax. Then we'll morph."

"Why couldn't we have morphed from the start?" Marco whined.

"We didn't know how fast we'd be going, and once we began running there was no pause to stop and morph."

"You could have asked," Rachel said.

Jake nodded. "Yes. We could. But we didn't. Now how about that break?"

Rachel exchanged a few words with Sira'aki and JaLa'an, and Menderash listened intently. But he sighed heavily and shook his head sadly.

"We have to continue as soon as possible," Rachel said. "But it's best to take a break while we've already stopped – and it's time for lunch, anyhow. After that we'll continue at a walk before we start running again. This time, though, I suggest you morph. We need to be halfway by morning, and we need to speed up to do that."

"How about being halfway by tomorrow morning instead?" Marco suggested cheerfully.

"Funny. Very funny."

- - -

Arayah's disobedient fingers squeezed tighter around the trigger, oblivious to the battle raging in her mind.

«Arayah!» Arifur cried, shocked. «What are you doing?!»

«I'm sorry,» she managed, before the One's part of her resumed control and the dracon fired.

FWAP!

The dracon was smacked to the side and hit a control board, just behind Arifur's head. The thin, automatic force field protected it from being hit – an ingenious design, even though it was Yeerk – but the dracon energy made the force field shake, and sent sparks flying in all directions, but the three warriors all pulled away in time to avoid being burnt.

FWAP!

The dracon flew out of Arayah's hand. She spun around, her own tail raised, but was met with a blade that came to a quivering halt at her throat.

Rafatal, the owner of the blade, was pale and meagre, barely standing as it was, but he had come in just the right moment and had had just enough energy to stop her from firing. Now, though, his energy seemed drained.

Arayah let out a blood-chilling cry and attacked.

Normally, attacking when you had a tail-blade at your throat meant a certain death. But Rafatal was too… soft-hearted, some would say… to actually cut her throat. She was still a friend, a fellow warrior, and his mind had not yet registered her more recent actions. Instead his blade flew up to parry her violent swipe.

Langur and Arifur had regained mobility and rushed up to help Rafatal. The three – of which Rafatal was little help any more – outfought their fellow warrior and pushed her back into a corner.

But the furious, mad attacking did not stop. Not until Arifur slammed the flat of his blade at the side of her head and she fell, unconscious.

Jakari finished the demorph and looked down at Arayah, not sure if his strongest emotion was surprise or disgust. «I'll go get some shackles,» he said lowly. «Before she wakes up.» He left the bridge.

Rafatal was leaning heavily against a wall, but still trying not to make it too obvious how tired he was, how weak the poison had left him. «I have clearly missed something here,» he said conversationally. «Why, in the name of the Council, did she aim a dracon at you? What did you do to her to push her that far?»

Arifur sighed. «Nothing.»

«She's been acting strange since we left the Blade ship,» Langur continued. «Not at all her usual self. Almost as if she wanted to run away and hide.»

«Left the Blade ship?» Rafatal blinked, confused. «By the way, where are we?»

Langur and Arifur explained it, or at least what they understood of it, to him in short terms before Jakari returned with a set of shackles. Since they each had carried a set themselves for so long, fitting them on Arayah was no problem. They left her in the corner, shackled, but set up a force field around her to make sure she did not escape.

- - -

Cassie tried to disappear as soon as possible. She left security to handle the prisoner, and left other officials to admire the three ships.

They were magnificent things, those ships, she had to admit. But their designs and especially their names had caused some debate; each country wanted to contribute to the design, and be mentioned or related to in the name.

The Earth Council had finally come to a more or less acceptable solution; name the ships after things in nature… things Earth but not human. Possibly things from old myths and legends. Give them names without specifying a language for the name to be spoken in. The Captains – that had been chosen with great care before the ships were even built – were given suggestions and chose the final name themselves.

When Cassie finally got away from the centre of attention it was thanks to a Captain. Ashley Brown knew exactly what she wanted and how to get it, but still recognized Cassie's increasingly desperate look and led her away, fending off the press with a couple of colourful comments about the consequences if they didn't disappear – quickly.

"Thank you," Cassie said, exasperated, glad to finally be rid of them. "Those guys are worse on my tail than any Yeerk ever was."

Ashley flashed a smile. They were walking near the main hangar, where the ships were, towards a park-like area where the crew probably spent their free time. "They've been haunting me since I got this assignment. You get used to it."

"I don't," Cassie stated. "Never will." She sank down on a bench to rest. She had not had a moment's peace since the gun went off, and she needed to think things through.

The Captain shrugged. She peered at the Animorph, who now had buried her tired face in her hands. "Not only the press and former controllers are hunting you, I see. What else?"

Cassie looked up.

"Not that it's any of my business…" Ashley continued smoothly. "Forget I asked."

"No, no… it's not a secret. It's about the Hork-Bajir, as usual."

"I thought that poacher had been caught."

Cassie nodded. "Two days ago, actually." While she had been on vacation, the poachers had – somehow – known. The good part was that they had slackened their security, unaware of Jake's morphers who kept all eyes open. "But he's not the last one."

"Do you know who he is?"

"Some former voluntary Controller," Cassie replied. She shivered. "Like today. A fanatical. More a ritual killer than a poacher or a kidnapper. But where there's one, there are many. That poaching … it's not a one-man job." She sighed. "We'll have them all locked up firmly before any more killings – or kidnappings – take place. I hope."

"If both were voluntary Controllers… maybe there's a connection."

"Maybe there is. But in that case, I don't see it. They've had thousands of chances of neatly murdering me back at the valley. Make it look like an accident. Why here? Why now? Why risk all this attention? I think there's some sort of organisation somewhere, but most likely, this one's a defector."

Ashley nodded thoughtfully. "Whoever it is, they're not making themselves popular." She checked her watch, and then turned her gaze back to Cassie. "What else?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what else is bothering you?"

Cassie allowed herself a smile. During the war she had been the one to 'see' people. Understand them. Here she found herself being 'seen', although Ashley's method was a lot more pushy than her own. Fortunately, Cassie did not really mind.

"I was just thinking… the others – other Animorphs I mean – they're out there. In space." She looked up towards the stars, as if she – by some miracle – would be able to see them. "I was reminded of it by the ships. I had this weird thought… I thought… maybe I'd join them."

"You're lonely," Ashley said. She asked no further questions about the Animorphs' disappearances.

But Cassie shook her head. "No, not really. I have my family, friends… the Hork-Bajir… and Ronnie, of course. No, I'm not…"

"And lying to yourself."

Cassie stood up, angered.

"You bury yourself in your work at the valley to hide it," the Captain continued.

"I'm not lonely. I just… I mean, I wish…"

"You wish you were with them instead of here."

Cassie shook her head fiercely, prepared a reply, but it never came over her lips. Instead, she gave up and nodded, sitting back down.

Ashley smiled. "If you want space, I have a ship heading out in a week or so. If you want to tag along, well… it would be an honour to have an Animorph aboard."

"Well, thank you, but no," Cassie said. "I've got enough trouble leaving the valley for a day. I couldn't just take off, abandoning Toby and the others like that."

Ashley nodded, showing she understood. "I would probably feel the same way," she said. "In fact, I know I would."

"If you meet them… or someone else does… could you send a message?"

"Of course. What message?"

Cassie hesitated, bit her lip, but then said; "Tell them I wish I'd gone with them. Tell them I miss them… I want them to come home as soon as possible."

"You got it." Ashley started back towards the main hangar, but stopped and turned around after only a few steps. "Cassie. If you change your mind about the space trip… just call. I'll arrange it. If you want to keep it hushed, that can be arranged, too."

Cassie nodded gratefully and Ashley left for the hangar without another word.

- - -

When Larynia leapt out of the _Phantom_ she had a shredder in her hand and her tail cocked proudly behind her. Carali followed, and after him Minalea.

Minalea was the only one without a shredder. But she solved that problem quickly by snatching Larynia's.

«Hey!» Larynia protested, making a grab for the weapon. «That was mine.»

«And a lot of good you'd do with it,» Minalea chuckled. «Everyone knows you're useless with a shredder. You couldn't hit a Dome ship in tail range! You stick to your tail, and let me use the shredder.»

Larynia glared at her, tail twitching, but knew she was right. She pranced a few steps, stalks constantly swivelling.

Carali dug a hoof into the grass, hungry enough not to care if it was poisonous or not. The taste of the grass was sweet, and somehow that fit perfectly with its bright pastel colours.

«So, Larynia, what exactly are we supposed to do?» Minalea asked, curiously looking around.

«Check for habitation, make sure the area is safe. Let's go.»

The three left the _Phantom_ behind, in the safe hands of Olana and Estrid, and searched the vicinity of it. They had landed in a small clearing in an enormous forest, hoping that eventual inhabitants of the planet would not be forest dwellers.

The Andalite fondness of open spaces was protesting very strongly against the enormous trees that grew only meters apart, effectively blocking the view in all directions. Not knowing what was behind the next tree made their necks tingle.

They kept their stalks circling – for what good it did – and their main eyes aimed at the ground, searching for clues of inhabitation.

There were none. No footprints, no broken twigs, no crushed leaves, no imprints in the soft forest floor at all except the ones after their own hooves.

But if they had been taller, or had raptor vision and had followed the massive stems upwards, they would have seen the curious cuts in the thick bark, located in more or less regular patterns, far above their heads. If they had thought about it further, they would have remembered that climbing Hork-Bajir left similar patterns on their trees.

But they returned to the _Phantom _without seeing any of that. They had located food and water, and took turns to guard the cruiser while the others left in pairs to graze and drink.

At night (with Olana's announcement that they would be able to leave by the next sundown) they locked the doors to their craft, turned on the force field around it and went to sleep.

With sentries, of course. Olana volunteered for the first half of the night, saying she needed to do some extra work on the engine, and after that she had to program a few safety precautions into the computer. Carali had agreed to take second, but as it turned out Olana was too busy working to notice when half the night had gone, and Carali's own internal clock failed to wake him.

When he awoke he was still standing where he had fallen asleep; at the back of the bridge, with the rest of them. Being on a potentially hostile planet made them all want to be on the bridge and ready to burst into action if they were needed. So while Olana worked, outside and inside the craft, and Aralgo slept peacefully in his quarters, Estrid, Carali, Minalea and Larynia had slept not-so-peacefully at the back of the bridge.

Carali found Olana at a control station, the slight sag in her shoulders announcing that she had fallen asleep at her work. That would have alarmed him if he had been more awake, and it would have made any Prince or warrior furious beyond belief – despite the fact that Olana had barely slept since they had fled from the _Daybreak_, more than two days earlier.

Minalea and Estrid were still asleep, but there was no sign of Larynia. The force field outside was taken down, and the door to the _Phantom_ was wide open. He grabbed a shredder from a table – just in case – and exited the craft on cautious hooves.

Thoughtless of Larynia to just leave like that, he thought, beginning to look around outside. He set in among the trees and when the broad stems cut off sight beyond meters in any direction he nervously quickened his pace – he could no longer see the _Phantom_.

He was busy imagining one after another horrible creature jumping out to meet him – and cursing his vivid imagination – when something did come out from behind a tree and leapt at him.

It hit his side just as his tail went up to meet it. But by the time he could strike they were both on the ground and rolling, trying to regain control over their momentum, trying to get back up before the other did.

Carali scrambled up only to realise he had lost the shredder. His stalks searched the spaces between the trees around him for his attacker and the shredder. He found neither.

A quick estimate told him he was too far away to be able to call for help from the _Phantom_. Out of thought-speech range by far. And he was alone.

Where was Larynia? Stupid thing to do, really, start searching there woods for her. She could just have gone down to her quarters. The door could have been left open earlier by Olana. He had never even considered that possibility. He started back towards the cruiser at a speedy trot.

When he came around the next tree he found his shredder. Actually, it was hard to miss.

It was aimed straight at him.

He felt the colour drain from his face.

A silvery thought-speech laugh came at him, surprising him enough to make him jump. Only then did he realise who was holding the shredder – Minalea. And she was laughing so hard that the weapon shook in her grip.

«That wasn't funny, Minalea!» Carali snapped sharply.

«I think it was hilarious!» Minalea giggled, turning the shredder in her hand and holding it out for him to take back.

Carali snatched it and fought down the urge to aim it at her. If he did that, he might pull the trigger – and not by mistake. «You almost scared me half to death!»

«Thank you.»

«It was not meant as a compliment.»

«I didn't say it was. What are you doing here? Except being attacked by me, I mean.» she giggled again. «You never even saw me coming, did you?»

«You were asleep when I left the _Phantom_,» he pointed out indignantly.

«Incorrect. You _thought_ I was asleep. There's a difference.»

Carali sighed, rolling his stalks. «I don't have time for this. I was looking for Larynia.»

«Oh, you were, were you?» Minalea teased, eyes twinkling. Then grew serious. Or at least as serious as she ever would. «Larynia's fine. She's out practicing. Tail-practicing. Disturb her and your head will be chopped off.» She let out an overly dramatic sigh. «And that would be such a shame.»

Carali ignored that. «Do you know where? We shouldn't be running around alone here.»

«Look who's thought-speaking. Yeah, I know where. Follow me. If you can!»

She spun around on a hind hoof took off at a wild gallop, leaving Carali no choice but to follow. She had a good head start and the trees effectively blocked his view, so he had to rely on the short glimpses of blue among the grey-green stems.

Then the glimpses stopped. Carali did the same, looking around. He continued past the next tree, but did not see Minalea anywhere. He saw nothing but the unchanging walls of grey-green trees all around him.

He was just about to call for her, (that irresponsible, not-fit-to-be-anything-other-than-locked-up-least-of-all-a-warrior, wicked little _aristh_), when another shadow flew at him. He was again pushed off his hooves, fell hard to the ground and pain raked across his back and side like knives before he had time to even think about bringing up his tail.

The shadow disappeared in among the trees before he got a good look at it. Carali stumbled up again. He cursed Minalea's strange sense of humour… then held up his hand to confirm that the shredder again was gone.

In an instant he had stopped cursing and just stared at his hand, eyes wide. Blood from several cuts adorned it in an easily recognizable pattern.

His stalks swivelled to look at his back, and was surprised at the sight of more blood, slithering down his sides. Aside from that first, sharp pain, his back was numb and unfeeling. What alarmed him the most was what he saw beneath the blood: long, parallel scratches.

No Andalite left scratches like that. No Andalite left teeth-marks, like those on his hand. Whoever – whatever – had attacked him, it had not been Minalea.

This time, he realised with a shiver, it was not a game.


	18. About an Animorph alone

**18 About an Animorph alone**

- - -

Menderash was so exhausted that he fell asleep as soon as his head touched the ground. The others had been able to morph, and continue as wolves or some other tireless animal, but Menderash had been forced to run, all through the long Dina'amm night.

Jake had offered to have someone morph horse – or Tobias could morph Andalite – so he could ride for a while, and rest, but the very idea seemed ludicrous to the former Andalite, who had backed down the offer at once. By morning, when it was time to find shelter for the day, he had regretted that decision. More than once.

Not that he would ever admit it.

While Menderash slept the others sat down for a quick meal. Fortunately, Kelbrid food did not need preparing, which evaded the unavoidable question of who would have to cook – or more properly, whose cooking the others would have to _eat_. Jeanne helped Rachel feed Tom, while Marco, glaring at the kii-raja, sourly grumbled something about "unfair".

To Jake's surprise, when they had finished eating, all three Kelbrid lay down on the ground, curled up in the Kelbrid manner and prepared to sleep. Soon, Rachel did the same. None of them seemed even aware of the fact that the Touched – or the Yeerks – could find and try to kill or capture them any moment. They needed a guard. It was bright daylight!

"Rachel?" he said. "Shouldn't someone keep an eye out for enemies?"

Rachel did not reply, comfortably rolled up in a blanket, but Jeanne yawned and stretched, turning her face towards him. "Tom will watch us," she told him, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. She was lying, curled up like Rachel, next to the big four-legged alien, who sat alertly in the shade of a tree. Rachel was on Tom's other side.

"Wrong," Marco muttered. "That thing might watch you and Rachel, but he wouldn't care if anyone came along and cut _me_ open in my sleep."

"Of course he wouldn't," Rachel murmured. "Fact is, who would? Stay awake and keep guard if that makes you happy, Jake. Personally, I'm going to sleep while I can."

Jake glanced up at Tobias, sitting on a tree-branch above them.

«I'll warn you if I see or hear something,» Tobias said. «But other than that, I think I'll follow Rachel's advice and sleep.»

Jake sighed. "Marco? Santorelli? How about splitting the watch between us?"

Marco nodded.

"I'll take first watch," Santorelli volunteered, sitting up again.

"Wake me for second," Jake said. "Marco, you're last. I'll wake you when it's your turn."

With that, he lay down to sleep, trying not to be bothered by the bright light of Dina'amm's large, orange-red sun.

- - -

Carali looked around frantically, wondering if it would be wiser to morph his wounds away or to keep them – and his tail.

His stalks caught a glimmer of movement amongst the trees. He spun to face it, in time to see a large, golden quadruped come out. It had a mouth – with sharp teeth – and was holding Carali's shredder between its jaws. The knife-like claws on its paws were coated with Andalite blood.

It dropped the shredder and snarled. Carali took note of the spikes along its back; and the tail, with a blade that might not rival his own, but well matched that of his little brother back home.

Strange to think of little Antin then.

He tried to gather himself, calm his racing mind, and took a careful step back. «I mean no harm…» he began.

Then another alien appeared. This one walked on two legs, had feet equipped with gigantic claws, and a long spiked tail behind him. He had two arms, stubby but still sharp wrist blades, and ears on short stalks, that for some reason were clearly leaning outwards.

The slits on his cheeks opened and closed with his breaths. His pupils gleamed an intense green. And over his head whipped two long, nasty-looking horns.

It was easy to tell who was the master. The quadruped sat down at a gesture from the horned being, and Carali redirected his thought-speech.

«Look, I don't know who you are, but I'm sorry if…»

"Andalite," the creature spat, so shrilly that the word was barely recognizable.

Carali blinked rapidly, surprised. «Yes,» he agreed. «Andalite. And who are you?»

The creature hissed something indecipherable and raised a hand. His golden companion snapped to attention, glaring at Carali, preparing to charge.

Then a brilliant beam of green shot past the two-legged and almost struck Carali instead.

«Damn shredder!» a familiar voice growled. Carali heard the soft thumps of hooves, a single leap, and a blue shape appeared next to – slightly behind – the creature.

There was the distinct swoop of a tail and the cracks and whooshes of the creature's living horns. The golden beast snarled again, but this time uncertainly.

When Carali's mind caught up with events it was to see Larynia standing where the creature had been, her tail-blade buried deep in the alien's chest – and his horns wrapped solidly around her, one around her neck, shoulder and arms, and one around her tail. The creature hung limply, and Larynia was straining to stay up with the unaccustomed – and obviously heavy – weight.

«Well, don't just stand there! Help me loose!»

- - -

When Arayah awoke, Langur was standing guard outside the force field, watching her as her eyes flickered open.

«She's awake,» he announced calmly out over the ship.

Her first reaction was to the shackles. The shackles made her think she was back on the Blade ship. Back a prisoner. She paled, tried to fly up to her hooves, but without her tail to balance her, she fell back to the floor and pulled, still on pure reaction, back into the corner. Her stalks darted around, as she tried to localize herself. Then, the tension let go of her body – just as the force of the One's orders again gripped her mind.

She closed her eyes and convinced herself that she really was trapped; no way she could harm Langur on the other side of a force field; no way she could kill him, weapon-less, with hands and tail tied.

It eased the order. But she knew the One would disapprove, and the same searing pain she had experienced when she almost pulled her Prince free now made her gasp for breath, feeling as if she would choke on her own lungs.

«Arayah?» Langur said. «Are you unwell?»

The One would not want her to reply.

So screw him, a voice of defiance spat. 

She forced a nod, not able to form any thought-speech.

A flash of pain, as if a tail-blade had cut right into her hearts, and her lungs had exploded. Her eyes, still closed, burned in their sockets and when she breathed the air felt like a ball of sandpaper going down her throat.

«What is going on?» Jakari asked when he came out on the bridge, closely followed by Rafatal and Arifur.

«She's acting strange,» Langur reported.

«Strange?» Jakari echoed. «She almost killed us! And you're saying 'strange'!»

«Which leads us back to the main question,» Rafatal said softly. «Arayah? Why?»

Arayah was silent, still trying to breathe, waiting for the pain in her chest to ease. The question was barely heard. Or heard; but not noticed, or maybe not even understood.

«Arayah-Althasa-Neferia! Answer the question, and that is an order!» Rafatal thundered.

Her eyes flashed open. The intense green glow in them made the three warriors draw back. She stared menacingly at Rafatal and he felt as if she could see straight into his mind, through his soul.

«The Chosen will take no orders from you, Andalite,» she snapped.

«Chosen?» Arifur repeated, and as he and the others had never heard that term, did not know what it applied to, their faces were in surprise for some time before they switched to anger. «What's gotten into you, Arayah?»

A wicked smile, with her madly glowing eyes. Her tail twitched in its shackle. «Wouldn't you like to know.»

Suddenly her manner flashed. The green glow died out, the arrogant pose collapsed and her head fell forwards with a sharp gasp for air.

No matter how the four warriors tried to persuade her, she refused to speak again.

- - -

As soon as the sun began to set Rachel and the Kelbrid urged the group to continue. Nothing and no-one had disturbed their rest, although the forest around them was eerily quiet; as if it had a secret it would not share.

Menderash was – as the typical Andalite – stubborn and proud enough to back down help once again, although the weariness began to show on his face, his eyes sinking back and his movements more and more done on automatic. Marco, who once might have joked about it and teased him until he gave in and accepted help, pretended that he had not noticed. Jeanne was the only one who reacted, glancing now and then at the former Andalite, making sure he did not fall too far behind – but now she was wise enough to avoid offering help.

Sira'aki and JaLa'an set a high pace that day as well, keeping the group between a half-jogging walk and a speedy run. They advised Tobias to keep below the trees, which he did, but he soon grew tired of the draftless air, and skipping from branch to branch, always wondering in the dark if that next shadow was a branch or not.

At midnight they stopped to rest again. Aside from slowing down to demorph and remorph every two hours, it was the only relief they had from the eternal running.

Tobias morphed Andalite when they set off again. Menderash made big eyes at the sight of him, as he had morphed Ax, and was an exact copy. The Andalite clearly disapproved, but kept what he thought to himself – for once. He remembered what the reaction had been the last time he had voiced an opinion. But through the rest of the night he sent jealous glances at Tobias; that the hawk had four legs and a bladed tail probably felt like a slap in the face for Menderash, for he himself would never again be Andalite.

By sunup, though, Menderash was too tired to care. He almost fell to the ground, and lay there, breathing, trying to regain some lost energy by rest. Jeanne and Sira'aki, both with a touch of fussiness in them, made sure he ate and drank before they let him fall asleep.

Rachel, the other human to walk and run on foot for two days, was in better shape. She was sitting with KEdi'ir, trying to teach Marco the complicated rules of, as the Kelbrid elegantly called their favourite game, _garih_. The word for "stone". One of the few – if not the only – word Marco had learned to pronounce properly.

Jeanne was bored. Tom was needed to help Rachel play, the Kelbrid did not understand a word she said, Menderash slept, Santorelli and Jake were discussing tactics, and Tobias was in human morph, sitting next to Rachel, with an arm around her and wearing a slightly dreamy expression as she leaned comfortably against his shoulder. Jeanne was therefore left alone to figure out something to do.

It did not take that long. After two days of running, sleeping on the ground, morphing, running, morphing again and running some more, she was generally a mess. She was, shortly said, filthy.

Conclusion; it was time for a bath. She remembered that they had passed a small spring on their way. It was not far from camp, out of sight from curious eyes, and hopefully safe.

But when she began morphing to leave camp Jake stopped her.

"Where are you going?"

"To take a bath," she replied, turning to meet his gaze with half-human eyes.

The Animorph leader shook his head. "Not alone, you're not."

"What? With whom, then? Sira'aki and Rachel are both busy, and don't for a moment think I'm bringing anyone else."

"Although Marco would volunteer, that's for sure," Jake murmured, troubled.

Jeanne patted his arm with a smile, careful about her just-formed claws. «Don't worry,» she said, sinking down to all four. «I'll stay within thought-speech range. I'll be careful. Just make sure Marco stays put.»

Before he could protest any further, she had swivelled around and disappeared in amongst the trees. She was in panther morph; a morph which blended perfectly into the many shadows of the early morning.

Jake sighed. The sun had just begun to rise. It had been a long night, but it would be just as long a day, because this close to the Blade ship they could not afford to let their guard down for a moment.

- - -

Larynia glared so sharply at Carali that he jolted forwards. He tried to cut the horns with his blade, only to find that it was like trying to cut through a wall. He did not dare swipe with more force than he already had, afraid that his blade might overshoot and cut right into Larynia's throat.

Although as the female kept glaring fiercely, as if it all was somehow his fault, the thought actually began to appeal to him.

He even tried to rip the coils open with his weak hands. When that failed he attacked the horns with his tail again. His blade slipped on the hard surface and Carali stopped it just millimetres from cutting into the other _aristh_'s chin.

Larynia at that point had paled a bit, which made her extremely… encouraging. «Just don't cut me open, or I'll chop your stalks off!»

Carali took a step back, annoyed, and deliberately turned his back to her. «Well, you're certainly the essence of gratitude! So do it yourself.»

It was only after trying that – again and again and a few extra times – and then attempting to run despite the tangle of horns and the limp, heavy alien hanging from her that the foolishly stubborn female actually admitted that she might need his help.

And might have to ask for it pleasantly, too, horrid thought as it was.

When the horns were finally removed, her mood had cooled down just enough for it to be bearable. She scrambled very quickly away from the dead alien, yanking her tail free and hurriedly sweeping the blood off on the pastel-coloured grass. Carali's eyes almost widened in surprise when he noticed that her blade was trembling.

«We better get back to the _Phantom_,» she said, all of a sudden that normal, cold expression back and her tail had stopped quivering. «Minalea went back earlier to make sure Olana put the _Phantom_ on high alert. Two of these things tried to overpower us, further in among the trees, and I'm telling you this; you don't want to be caught unaware. They seem to have slow reflexes when unprepared, though. Lucky for us.»

Carali decided not to comment that. Sure, the thing had not reacted quickly enough to avoid Larynia's tail, even with the warning of that shredder-beam, but the horns had been fast enough to wrap around her in the time it took for the creature to die from a blade in his chest.

Slow. Yeah, right. When planets thought-spoke.

Carali's stalks swivelled uncomfortably. The horned creature was on the ground, now motionless and no longer a threat. But the gold-coloured, four-legged beast had soundlessly disappeared among the trees.

Probably to fetch reinforcements.

The shredder was still lying where it had been dropped. He caught it on his blade and threw it up to catch in his hand, lifting a hoof nervously. Leaving sounded like a good idea.

- - -

Jeanne did not stay in thought-speech range. The spring was further away than she had thought. When she found it, she gratefully hunched down by the gold-coloured water and drank her fill. After that she demorphed, focusing extra on excluding her morphing suit, stepping out gradually into the water as she did so.

When she was fully human she leaned back, lifted her feet up and lay floating on the surface, a content smile on her face. For a moment she managed to forget where she was, why she was there; and the dangers that could appear at any time.

But it came back to her in a flash and she put her feet back down, straining both ears and eyes to make sure no-one was around. She found nothing, and sank back into the water with a sigh, closing her eyes and accusing herself of being overly paranoid.

The next time she opened them and stood up, she came face to face with the gleaming green eyes of a Kelbrid Touched.

- - -

The records.

The secret records of the Animorphs. Cassie looked down at the stack of notebooks, loose papers and collections of scrap paper, all put in some sort of strange order to form their story.

It was the story of her life. It seemed the war was the only life she had lived. Cassie was able to move on from the war; perhaps she as the only member of the Animorphs had survived in all senses of the word; physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally.

But right then she felt like crying.

The last notes were on top. They were just blank pieces of paper, really. Representing Rachel. Rachel should have written the last entry. None of them had had the heart to attempt writing anything in her place.

Rachel should have been alive. Cassie felt a jolt of fresh pain in her heart; her best friend was gone, gone forever, and that should not have had to happen. When she thought it over, there were a lot of shouldn't:s. One for each of them.

Rachel shouldn't be dead.

Tobias shouldn't have run away.

Jake shouldn't have let the events of the war haunt him when it was all over.

Ax shouldn't have disappeared.

Marco shouldn't… Marco shouldn't have followed the others to find Ax, leaving her alone.

Alone. She shouldn't be alone. The Animorphs belonged together; they were, unavoidably, a group with strong ties. Cassie knew that. Thinking about being alone, alone as long as she lived, never seeing any of them again, hurt. It hurt badly; as bad as knowing she would never see Rachel again.

She sat down to take a better look at the notes. She searched for a specific text… and found herself staring at it, her own untidy scrawl – written in a rush, when she had been very stressed, for more reasons than one.

It was barely readable, but she finally translated it and read it over and over again.

It was from the time she had left the Animorphs. So long ago, so faint, it might as well have been another world. She had learned her lesson then; she was in the war too deep to even hope out. She was tied to the group with too strong bonds to ever dream of breaking free.

But now she was. Free. She could, theoretically, forget the others and never think about them again. Go on with her life. It would be easy. So easy.

Then why was she shaking from the mere thought?

They have no use for you where you are, here on Earth, cynicism laughed at her. _They're probably doing fine without you. They might even be better off without you._

But a part of her knew she did not mean that. Didn't want that.

She had been asked to stay behind. Although it felt like she had been brutally pushed out.

She felt the tears welling up in her eyes.

"Cassie?"

Cassie looked up and saw Ronnie peering back at her, worried. Toby towered beside him, her Hork-Bajir neck curved as she stared down at the Animorph.

Cassie covered the stack of notes again, sealed them back into the bag they were stored in, and stood up.

"You okay?" Ronnie asked. When she did not reply, he sighed, came past the bag and silently lay his arms around her. She closed her eyes, nodding, slipping her own arms around his waist.

"Digging in old memories won't help you," Toby said sensibly.

She knew Toby was right. Partly.

The seer glanced down at the bag. "If you miss them, you should go to them," she continued softly.

Ronnie sent a glare at the Hork-Bajir and turned Cassie firmly away from the notes of her past to lead her out of the cave. She had hid the records in that cave, deep in the Hork-Bajir territory, because she could not bear having them near her. So she had asked Toby and the Hork-Bajir to keep an eye on them. But over the last week or so she had come to realise that she could not bear to be away from them, either.

"Let's get some sleep," Ronnie said. "It's been a long day. Especially for you."

Cassie followed Ronnie back to their tent, and Toby disappeared back to her own duties.

All day had been spent flying back to the valley, on her osprey wings. She had escaped the hundreds of officials who wanted to make sure she was "safe" from further attempts on her life, escaped their tries to escort her into a high-security plane and escort that plane with half a dozen military jets. A waste of time and money, she thought. So she had simply declined, morphed, and flown away.

Little they could do to stop her. Fortunately.

But because of the heavy flying she was tired. So now she curled up in her sleeping bag she made an honest attempt to fall asleep.

But someone must have glued her eyes open. Given her a shot of caffeine. She did not sleep all night. She lay awake, thinking, remembering and hoping. She remembered the surging feeling in her stomach when she had said goodbye to Jake.

She had known that she would never see him again.

Unless she did something about it.

By morning, she had made her decision.

Cassie the Animorph would be alone no more.

- - -

Jeanne sat perfectly still, intently watching the Kelbrid Touched. She was unsure of how much time had passed since she'd first seen those shining green eyes watching her, from the other shore of the spring, but they were still watching, not looking away, not even blinking.

She had morphed to panther – remaining in the relative safety of the water, she was unsure if Kelbrid could swim or not – and still the Touched had not shift her (it was a female, Jeanne knew; there were no spikes on her tail) unsettling gaze.

She had even tried attacking, but leaping directly out of the deep water slowed her down and the Touched had wrapped a horn around a branch above and swung herself up to safety.

Jeanne had noticed earlier that same day that the bark of the trees on Dina'amm was too soft, too rubber-like, to allow her panther claws to get a good enough grip to support her weight. She just left long scars in the bark and found herself back on the ground. Having given that up, she had backed away from the tree to her enemy could not drop straight down on her, and sat down to watch and wait from a distance.

Finally, puzzled that her enemy made no attempts to attack her, kill her, or even fetch help or sound any sort of alarm, Jeanne had demorphed – into her morphing suit, this time, of course. But still the Touched did not move.

She did not dare leave, or even turn her back to the Touched. She did not dare return to the others, as she refused to lead the enemy straight to them. And as she had could not leave, and had by then realised that neither would the Touched, there was only one option left.

Wait. Wait until help arrived, until someone came to look for her.

Or until someone came to look for the Touched.


	19. When orders are orders

**19 When orders are orders**

- - -

"Don't you think Jeanne's been gone a little too long by now?" Rachel asked suddenly, and at her signal Tom looked up from the game of _garih_ on which the two had been concentrating.

Marco's head also snapped up. "Jeanne's gone?"

"She went to take a bath," Jake informed him. "Didn't you notice?"

Marco leapt to his feet, a fake display of shock on his face, as he fell back into the lines of the game he had constantly played while on the _Rachel_. "Jake, buddy, I thought we were friends! You could have warned me! Where did she go?"

"I advice you not to pursue that thought," Rachel said sensibly, grinning. "Jeanne would cheerfully kill you."

"I don't think she'd –" Marco began, but was interrupted.

«Think 'fly', Marco…» Tobias chuckled, and Marco's face flickered to worry and he glanced uncertainly at Jake.

Jake sighed, shaking his head, as Marco's mouth opened with yet another smart remark ready to be spoken. But Jake was quicker. "We'd better check on her, though," he said. "Cause Rachel's right. She's been gone too long as it is."

Rachel nodded.

"I'll go," Marco offered at once. "A lady might be in need…" He made a mocking bow and turned to leave.

But Rachel grabbed his arm, with accuracy that went against any notion of her being unable to _see_ him. "You'll do no such thing," she said, firmly, and pushed him back to where he had been sitting on the ground. "I'm going. If there's trouble, Tom will be more useful than your lumbering monkey."

With that she left the clearing, Tom at her side, completely ignoring Marco's protest of "_Lumbering monkey_?". Tobias lifted from his perch to follow, and Marco glared after them.

"Oh, sure, the bird gets to go. But me? Noooooo." Marco sighed so heavily that both Jake and Santorelli had to laugh.

- - -

Rafatal only had to glance at the screen to know that he still had no idea where they and their ship was. It was his turn to guard the bridge, to try to make sense of the unfamiliar space around them.

And to keep an eye on Arayah.

He could feel her gaze watching him as he moved about the bridge, doing his best to ignore her. Sometimes, her eyes were sad, but mostly the weird green glow in them shone brilliantly and her gaze was icy, filled with calculating hatred, a combination that made the back of his neck prickle.

Finally, Rafatal had enough of it. He turned towards her. «Stop that!»

«Stop what, Andalite?»

«Stop staring at me like that.»

«Like what?»

But then, as many times before, the green glow faced and her shoulders sagged down, the arrogance gone, as if it had a mind of its own and had simply lost interest.

«I'm sorry,» she whispered, her four eyes aimed at the floor as if she was trying to hide them.

Rafatal hesitated, hating to see what had happened to his fellow warrior, even if he had no idea what it was. The question he had been asking for several days now bubbled up in his mind again. He sighed. «Why, Arayah?»

Arayah shuddered. Instead of answering his question, she said; «Have you ever received an order you did not wish to follow?»

Rafatal had no idea where she was heading, but found no reason to deny her a reply. «Yes… once or twice. But…» he flicked his tail uncomfortably. «Orders are orders. What has –»

«There is no choice,» Arayah interrupted, as if talking to herself, her face suddenly strained, her hands shaking in their shackles. «There is… nothing but the order.»

«Arayah, what has this got to do with –»

«Everything,» she snapped. «I shall try to explain… there was the order. No choice. No –»

«You mean someone ordered you to…» Rafatal first felt shock, but then anger. Steaming, blind anger. That was why they had been sent from the Blade ship! Arayah had betrayed them all. He felt his tail cocking behind him, felt his muscles tensing in fury. She was lucky to be on the other side of that force field. Otherwise –

«No-one on the Blade ship was one of your officers!» he spat. «No-one there was in your chain of command!»

«Prince Aximili was,» Arayah said lowly. Her eyes were closed now, head bent down, breath coming in rasps and she had staggered towards the wall, leaning on it to stay up.

Rafatal was too drowned in rage to notice. «Prince Aximili is DEAD!» he roared.

«No,» she said. «Prince Aximili… he… he…»

Rafatal barely noticed when she stopped speaking, halfway through that sentence… the exact meaning of her words was beginning to dawn on him. His eyes went wide, and he remembered the fierce green in the eyes of his Prince, how he now appeared.

The green light of the One's eyes. Of the eyes of his Kelbrid.

And of Arayah's.

She had said… 'Prince Aximili'… which probably meant what was left of him.

Rafatal's voice was almost as low as Arayah's when he spoke. «Are you speaking of… the One?»

Arayah gasped for breath with her pain-struck lungs. She wanted to answer him. Really wanted to.

But even if she kept silent, Rafatal understood. «And… you took orders from…»

This time she could speak.

She had discovered a loophole in the One's first order; the one where she had been told to keep quiet about their "agreement". She could speak to those who knew – or, those who had figured it out.

«Yes,» she said.

She could speak. But the searing knowledge that the One would disapprove made it almost too much to bear.

Rafatal's tail twitching dangerously, but he forced himself to stay still. His tail was more than just shaking with anger over this… this betrayal. He was so livid that he did not notice when she sank to the floor, main eyes rolled into the back of her head and stalks jerking with pain.

«How could…» he began, but then took a deep breath and realised he could answer that question himself. How could the One convince her to switch sides? He knew only too well; the threat of infesting Langur and Arifur (he had been told about their trip to the infestation pier, and how they had been led away again – still free), and his own poisoning, probably something to do with Jakari as well… plus the offer of escape.

Foolish, he knew, to agree to any of it. Typical females to weaken over emotions. He briefly wondered what he would have down if he had been offered escape or watching the others being infested or killed… but dismissed the thought before exploring it further, afraid of what he might find.

But he also knew here must have been something else. Arayah was many things, true, but he had never known her to be a fool. At times, she was actually sensible.

He turned his attention back to her where she was trapped behind the force field, now with a different perspective, the anger more or less pushed away.

Only then did he notice what a horrible condition she was in. His eyes flared open in surprise and his first instinct was, of course, to help.

«Langur, Arifur, Jakari!» he called. «To the bridge!»

He turned towards the controls to turn off the force field, but had not yet done so when the weak but resolute thought-speech voice reached him; «No. Leave it up.»

Rafatal's stalks swivelled back towards her. She managed a smile. «Don't trust me. Don't let me out. I have my orders.»

Rafatal noted the edge of warrior's sarcasm in her voice, although it was the plea that made him listen. An Andalite asking to stay locked in a cramped space; obviously, it was important.

He wondered why. Then an idea struck him, which sent an involuntary shiver up his tail.

«The One…» he hesitated. «Is he here… with you?»

«No,» Arayah said. «But he… disapproves… of me… speaking about this.»

Neither of them said another word. Jakari, Langur and Arifur had all arrived on the bridge – the craft they had been given was very small, after all – and all watching Arayah with some note of uncertain worry. Waiting for her to recover from whatever had struck her.

Then she suddenly smiled up at them, eyes shining – this time with joy, not with that green glow, although her pupils remained discoloured.

«But you were wrong before, Rafatal,» she said. «Our Captain-Prince is not dead. I know. I spoke to him… he is alive!» Her stalks sparkled dreamily. «Alive enough to be rescued.»

- - -

Estrid hurriedly opened the door and Carali and Larynia, both gasping for air, sides heaving, burst into the _Phantom_ and skidded to a halt halfway across the bridge. Estrid slammed the door shut and locked it. Then she joined Olana and Minalea by the controls, in time to hear Olana give the command that activated the shield.

Minalea was turned towards Larynia expectantly. «Well?» she said.

«Well what?» Larynia snapped.

«Was there a battle?»

«If that's what you want to call it,» Carali said, laughing giddily for some reason, feeling the tension in his tail and shoulders finally let go. «Larynia here snuck up on that thing and killed him.»

Larynia squirmed a bit, putting on a disgusted face. «It wasn't a battle,» she said, glancing at her tail-blade. «But I'm glad we're alive and he's dead.»

«Glad about what? And who's dead?»

All stalks turned towards the tunnel leading away from the bridge to see Aralgo standing in the opening. He looked a bit comical with his scalp swollen and the bandage tied securely around it, only the tips of his stalks visible.

«And finally, who's greased the floor outside my quarters so it's impossible to pass without slipping?» he wondered, and Minalea grinned. At that Aralgo tried – without much success – to roll his stalks and added; «Forget I asked.»

Estrid's surprised look had turned to annoyance. «Who allowed you to get up?» she demanded.

«I didn't know I wasn't supposed to,» Aralgo said, but brought a hand up to his head and realised maybe Estrid was right. «Whose ship is this? And where are we?»

«My ship,» Olana snapped. Then blushed. «Well, ours, actually. But I'm in charge of it.»

«We're on a planet we shouldn't be on and Larynia here just murdered a local,» Carali added.

«Why am I not surprised?» Aralgo snickered.

«Estrid? Are you _sure_ it was necessary to let him wake up – ever again?» Larynia wondered innocently. «I think I like him better asleep.»

«I forgot to check on him after what happened this morning,» Estrid admitted. «How's your head, Aralgo?»

«My head? I keep wishing I could get rid of it.»

«We should be able to arrange that,» Minalea muttered, swiping at air with her tail.

«Are you sure you'd be up for that?» Aralgo asked. «I mean, considering that your average strike _couldn't hit the side of a Dome ship_.»

Estrid ignored the _aristh_s' gibbering and said to Aralgo; «You've got a concussion there, as well as that crack. But can you morph? It will go away if you morph.» She glanced at Carali, who still wore the deep slashes across his back. «You might want to morph as well.»

Carali nodded and did as he was told. Aralgo focused, and began morphing as well. While he did, Carali summarized the events of the last few days for him into a couple of short sentences.

When Carali reached the end, Aralgo spoke. «One minute now. Let me see if I got this straight. No bossy tactical officer. No boring first officer. No moralizing Captain. No warriors at all. Our own ship. Me, you, and –» his glittering eyes formed a wide grin. «– four pretty females. Have I died and gone to a better place?»

«Better place, no,» Larynia commented. «But you still have a chance at dying.»

«We all do unless we get out of here,» Estrid said bluntly. «Olana? How is the ship doing?»

«We have enough energy to last another two days,» Olana said. «Enough to find another planet to shelter on.»

Carali was about to speak, but a loud, shrill cry from outside the ship made them all turn towards the window. Further away from the ship, outside the shield – fortunately – was a group of the green-pupilled, horned creatures, whipping their horns against the force field, angrily giving air to their piercing battle cries.

Aralgo surprised them all. «Kelbrid!»

Larynia spun towards him. «What?»

«I…» He stared at the horned beings. «Well, I overheard Captain Kandion talking to the… the Head of Council. The Head of Council gave a description, and… those are Kelbrid, I'd bet my stalks on it!»

«The Head of Council?» Minalea said sceptically.

«Just our bad luck!» Estrid commented. «We land on a planet, almost by accident, and which species does it belong to? _The Kelbrid_!»

«This is a typical tell-the-grandkids story,» Carali remarked.

«If we live that long,» Olana added, yanking nervously at her left stalk.

«I think the 'live' part is an excellent idea,» Larynia snapped. «So what are you waiting for, Olana? Get us out of here!»

- - -

Jeanne saw the familiar red-tailed hawk circling, far above, and felt an instant wave of relief.

«So, you stayed in thought-speech range, did you?» Tobias's voice laughed in her head. «Got us all a bit worried. Stay there. Rachel is on her way. And she's got Tom with her.»

Jeanne did as she was told and waited patiently.

Not long after Tom arrived. He was no more than a golden blur. Her eyes saw him leap past her; or they did not, she might as well have imagined it. He was just a flash of movement that headed for the Touched Kelbrid's tree and threw itself upward. The Touched was too slow to pull away, and Tom yanked her down from her perch with a grip around her tail, that had hung down beneath the branch to balance her.

The next second the Touched was on the ground, with Tom standing, front paws on her chest, snarling, tail whipping from side to side, his great muscles rippling with anger under his skin. It was obvious that her horns would not do much good to help her – one horn was steadily wrapped around Tom's neck and front leg, and the other was curled into a neat coil, held as a shield over her face, but Tom ignored them both. Kii-raja would not have evolved into Kelbrid-hunters without being able to cope with horns.

Rachel stumbled into view just as Jeanne got to her feet, one hand in front of her to make sure she did not run into anything.

"Tom!" she snapped as she heard him growling not far away, and stopped, hands planted firmly on her hips. "What do you think you're doing?!"

Tom turned his head towards her. Jeanne had guessed correctly; the horn did little to hinder his movements. His ears played forwards and his tail sunk a little lower, ceasing to twitch, as if he was ashamed.

«What did he do?» Tobias asked, swooping down to land on Rachel's shoulder.

"He ran away from me!" Rachel said. "He's never left me before – unless I've given him expressed permission!" She stroked a wisp of hair out of her face and sent a glare in the general direction of her enormous pet, adding; "Do you hear me, Tom? Bad kii-raja. _BAD_."

Tom's tail sank even lower. He glanced guiltily at Jeanne, and then down at the shaking Touched.

Rachel took one look at the explanatory pictures he sent her and raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Well, Jeanne, it seems you've got yourself a new friend."

"What – who? Tom?"

Rachel nodded. "Yep. You've been feeding him. And the route to a kii-raja's heart goes through his stomach. But we've got more important matters to deal with. This Touched, to begin with. Tom?"

Tom hurriedly – and enthusiastically – sent her a series of pictures, almost as if trying to make up for leaving her.

But suddenly, the Touched spoke. In a weak voice, first, but stronger and stronger, with more and more certainty.

Rachel listened, a note of confusion on her face. Then she paled. "Tom, leave her alone. Get over here."

Tom lifted his head and leaned it to the side, confused, but did as he was told. He planted a firm paw on the Touched's face and threw his neck and shoulder sideways, to force the Kelbrid to either let go of him or have her horn ripped out. It was an easy choice, and Tom leapt free to trot up to his usual place next to Rachel. But he kept his eyes on the Touched.

Tobias focused both eyes on the Kelbrid and listened to her nervous chanting. Then asked; «Am I actually recognizing what she's saying? Have I heard that before?»

Rachel licked her dry lips and dug her fingers into the skin on Tom's neck. She nodded. "You should. I was right. He did leave a clue."

Jeanne, again puzzled, listened to the Kelbrid's words. She understood nothing. But she did make out a single word that was being repeated over and over.

"_Arnaha_."

- - -

JaLa'an flew up from where he had been sitting when the group returned. The human called Jeanne was, as far as he could tell, unharmed, and so was the hawk, _cer_ Rachel and her kii-raja… Tom. The only kii-raja in the universe with a name. But walking with them, under Tom's guard, was a Touched.

Sira'aki was also on her feet, claws clicking, and he saw her ready her horns. KEdi'ir, though young, was not far behind, although he kept half-behind his mother.

But _cer_ Rachel gave a slight jerk of her head, and all three Kelbrid lowered their horns again, although none of them relaxed.

"This is LuRi'il," the _cer_ _y'yhan_ explained, in their own language.

"Have you lost your sanity? She is a Touched!" Sira'aki hissed in a shrill voice, claws still clicking – and she made no effort to hide it.

The _cer_ _y'yhan_ shook her head, and told the three about a prisoner – a Touched called TaKi'in – and what he had revealed. About the resistance group; that, LuRi'il had explained, called itself _Arnaha_ – the word for 'freedom'. The reason for TaKi'in's last plea; "_Tirish jha'arnaha_" – 'must find freedom'.

"It is a trick," Sira'aki theorized, eyeing the other Kelbrid with her cold, white-pupilled eyes.

"Which is why I have Tom keeping an eye on her. And why you'll be tying her horns."

Sira'aki hesitated further, but it only showed if you looked closely at her face – and knew Kelbrid expressions. For she immediately dug into her bag and brought out the long, thin metal chains used for tying horns.

The Touched sank obediently down on her knees and stayed still while Sira'aki and JaLa'an worked. But she was visibly trembling; only that and her rapid breaths betrayed her fear – and possibly the pain that came from doing what she knew would displease the One.

- - -

Jake found himself giving up the notion of sleep quickly. It had been hard enough to sleep on Dina'amm, knowing where and exactly how unprotected they were – even with sentries – but with LuRi'il sitting by a tree, staring into space, it was as good as impossible.

He was beginning to have more faith in Rachel's kii-raja, on the other hand. Tom seemed asleep where he lay, lazily stretched out about halfway between Rachel and the Touched as if he couldn't decide who it was most important to keep an eye on. But as soon as LuRi'il moved, even the slightest twitch, his upper lip curled, revealing a row of glistening teeth, and he let out a warning growl that only a fool wouldn't take seriously.

At least their prisoner wouldn't be escaping.

But Jake could still not sleep. When he finally gave up the idea he sat up, listening to the sounds of the unfamiliar forest around them.

Silence. Everything around them was quiet, except for the breathing of his friends and the wind rustling in the branches above.

Then, suddenly, Tom lifted his head and gazed intently out into the woods, ears pricked. Jake watched him, wondering what the kii-raja had heard.

But Tom made no attempt to do something about the noise, whatever it had been. He stayed where he was, soon lowering his head back down to rest on his paws, and his eyes half-closed as he dozed off into that slumber that was always on the edge of being awake.

A perfect watchdog. But unlike the kii-raja had, Jake couldn't as easily dismiss something near enough to be heard. Considering Tom's decision to do nothing, it was probably not a danger to them, but Jake was curious. So he left his place, left camp, and set off in the direction Tom had been staring.

He had not gone far when he heard the voices. He stopped walking, almost freezing in place, listening to them for a few moments – long enough to realise that some of them were human. Not Kelbrid. They were not far away, either, but he could not make out any words.

As silently as possible, he started moving again and took off towards the voices. The closer he came, the nearer the ground he stayed, and finally he was crawling along, under the cover of very thorny bushes.

Soon he came close enough to see the speakers. There were two humans, three adult Kelbrid, and a young one. One of the humans was a small, pale-haired woman who had her back to Jake. From the way her arms were crossed over her chest and the others kept glancing away, she was in charge. And not happy.

"Are you certain about this?" she snapped impatiently. "If this is just another minor detail…" The sentence was left hanging threateningly in the air, unfinished.

The second human, a taller, black-haired and at the moment very nervous woman let her eyes dart questioningly at the Kelbrid. She was acting as an interpreter, Jake realised. The young one spoke, and in an almost timid voice the human said; "She says it isn't a minor thing, lieutenant. She says her mother never averts from habit, but now she has."

"And this activity is suspicious because..?" the flaxen-haired woman – the lieutenant? Did Yeerks use that title? – snorted. "She might have fallen and broken her neck. She might have been called to duty at the last moment. What do I know? What do I _care_? Tell these… _Kelbrid_… exactly what I think about being bothered without any real reason – especially at this hour."

The other woman nodded, and turned back towards the Kelbrid and spoke again – in their tongue, but her grip on the language could not even be compared to Rachel's. She did not seem especially happy about what she had to say, but knew to do as she was told.

Jake watched the pale-haired woman carefully. Woman – more of a girl. His own age, perhaps. Not older. And there was something familiar about her… something he could not quite put his finger on. He wished she would turn around so he could see her face.

She did not, unfortunately. But Jake took note of one more thing; the three adult Kelbrid were Touched; their eyes gleamed like fireflies in the dark. The young one, though, was not. Not as far as Jake could tell. And neither so was the woman who spoke Kelbrid.

A controller. Jake felt a thrill of anticipation; he had not been that close to a Yeerk in a long time, and still it made his blood rush in preparation of battle. He toyed with the idea of morphing and attacking… but no. Not with the Kelbrid there. Their horns were trouble, and three – no, four – of them plus the potentially morphable humans against one tiger…

All too soon the humans turned to leave. Jake, still wondering who that pale-haired girl was, was overcome by curiosity and moved forwards for a last attempt to see her face.

The cubic leaves on the bushes above him crackled softly as his shoulder brushed past them. Jake stopped moving, but the Kelbrid had already cocked their ears and raised their horns. The silence that followed was complete.

Jake knew little about Kelbrid senses, but he knew enough to guess that if he made one more sound, it would be his last.


	20. What happened to the SwiftHoof

**20 What happened to the _SwiftHoof_**

- - -

Jake did his best to stay very, very quiet. And very, very still. The cubical leaves of bushes above seemed almost eager to betray him further.

Suddenly a strong hand clasped over his mouth and another grabbed his shoulder.

Jake tensed instantly in half-panic, prepared to fight, but just in time he heard the faint whisper that said; "Be absolutely quiet. Don't move."

It was Rachel. She moved her hand away from his mouth, and let go of his shoulder. She settled next to him under the bushes. The Kelbrid, tired of waiting for sounds, began searching their surroundings, beginning with up in the trees. The humans were gone, and the young Kelbrid remained, uncertainly, where the three adults left her.

Having searched the trees, the Kelbrids' horns began whipping into the bushes, beating the branches apart to reveal what was beneath.

Rachel said nothing, did nothing, although she must have heard the characteristic sound of whipping horns coming closer and closer. Jake trusted her judgement, knowing that she knew the Kelbrid much better than he did, but as the search came closer he grew nervous and finally decided it was time to leave.

He yanked lightly at his cousin's shirt to signal for her to follow, but as he began inching away she took a hold of his wrist and gave a slight jerk of her head, clearly indicating "no". She was surprisingly strong. Even if Jake could have broken free, (although perhaps not easily) the movement would have caused the bushes above to crackle terribly, and reveal them to the Kelbrid.

By then the three Touched had reached the two hidden humans, and it was too late for Jake to figure out any sort of plan. The horns whipped at the bushes, brushing leaves and branches aside, displaying both Jake and Rachel...

But the Kelbrid simply moved on.

Jake's surprise was not far from making him raise his head in puzzlement to see why. But he stopped himself at the last moment, realising that would do more harm than good.

When the Touched and the young one had left – and their footsteps faded away – Rachel stood up, hearing Jake doing the same. She brushed some dirt off her shirt, and smiled, explaining; "Kelbrid have good ears. But their night-vision is worse than ours. They can detect movement, but not much more. So just stay still and quiet and they'll pass you by."

Jake nodded, filing the piece of information away in the back of his head for later use. He glanced around... and realised Tom was nowhere in sight. Then how had Rachel managed to get there?

"How did you get here?" he hissed, thinking the question could do with an answer. "And where's Tom?"

"Tom's guarding LuRi'il," Rachel replied. "At least he _better_ be guarding her, if he knows his own good. And I got here the same way you did; crawling."

"Alone?"

"Do you see anyone else?" she snarled, and Jake suddenly realised he was out on thin ice. "Yeah, cousin; alone. What's so horrible about that?"

"Not horrible," he assured her, although a part of him though it was; Rachel or not, she was still non-morphable and completely blind. Not that she herself seemed aware of it. "Just surprising. How did you find your way?"

"Followed you, of course," Rachel snorted. "I'd have to be deaf as well as blind not to be able to do that. You breathe as loudly as Marco snores."

"That bad?" Jake said, downhearted.

She nodded. "Almost. Then again, I've had some practice. But now, Jake, you'll get to lead a poor blind girl back." She smiled – a half-wicked smile. "Maybe that'll sooth your overdone protectiveness."

Jake made a face, but took her arm and started back towards camp.

- - -

«Estrid! Wake up!»

Estrid's eyes flew open and she found herself staring right at Aralgo's face. His four eyes were shining.

«What? Has something happened?»

«Oh, nothing,» he said with a drawl, expression changed, and a sly stalk watching for her reaction. «Just wanted to see if that would wake you.»

«Very amusing,» Estrid commented. «Seriously. What's –»

«'Seriously'?!» Araglo repeated, taking a step back in fake-shock. «I thought you knew me better than that! I'm insulted!»

«Larynia was right. I should have let you sleep. You're as bad as Minalea! Has something really happened, Aralgo, or is this just your idea of a joke?»

«Come on, my jokes are better than this.»

«Doubtful. Very doubtful.»

Aralgo flicked his tail, but then his eyes began shining again. «We've located a ship,» he said. «A Dome ship. Everyone's meeting on the bridge.»

«Which Dome ship?»

«We don't know. We intend to find out. Are you coming or not?»

Estrid sighed and followed the _aristh_ to the _Phantom_'s spacey bridge. The 'spacey' part was lucky, because – with six Andalites – any smaller would have been very crowded.

«Okay, what have you found?» she questioned, taking a place next to Olana by the consoles.

«A friendly ship,» Olana said eagerly, all four eyes fixed on the screens and fingers dancing over the controls.

«Aralgo told me that much,» Estrid said. «Anything else?»

«I'm trying to open a communications channel, but so far they aren't responding. Just a moment...»

«'Just a moment' is an excellent phrase,» Carali commented. «And during that moment, how about figuring out what to tell them? How do we explain what we're doing here?»

Larynia sent an annoyed stalk-glare at him. «We tell them the truth. That we are a group of _aristh_s, without a Prince or warrior, looking for –» She stopped speaking and her main eyes grew wide. «Oh.»

«Oh what?» Minalea asked.

«_Aristh_s,» Larynia said. «Only...»

«Only _what_?» Minalea demanded.

«We were sent off the _Daybreak_,» Carali said. «But if we can't prove that, they might stamp us all as deserters.»

Larynia shifted her weight to another set of hooves. «_Arisths_ are not allowed – as we all know –» she remarked dryly «– to start making decisions for themselves. We need to prove that we were _sent_ away, not just _went_ away. Without a Prince or warrior, that can get tough.»

There was a moment of silence as the words sank in. Estrid moved closer to the controls and stood watching the screens that clearly displayed the nearby ship.

«With other words, we are in serious trouble,» Carali concluded grimly.

«What about me?» Estrid wondered.

«You? You're not an _aristh_,» Aralgo muttered. «You've got nothing to worry about.»

«No. I mean, I can testify. I can –»

«You're not in the Fleet,» Olana said, tugging nervously at a stalk. «It doesn't count for much – I know that. At the Academy they made us study trials and laws until we knew them forwards, backwards and from both sides.»

«They did?» Minalea said, confused.

«Yes, they did,» Larynia explained patiently. «Third lesson in the afternoon.»

«Oh,» Minalea laughed, eyes twinkling. «Now I remember. Nap-time.» A concerned wrinkle appeared on her forehead. «Were we supposed to be listening to that babble?»

Everyone ignored her.

«They'll accuse us of theft, too,» Olana said.

«Theft?» Carali said.

«The _Phantom_. It is, technically, still Captain Kandion's ship.»

Minalea let out a heavy sigh. «Great.»

«'Great' in general, or 'great', you thought of something else they can imprison us for?»

Minalea scraped at the floor with a front hoof. «In general. But also...» Another sigh. «Well, here I am, in the best trouble of my life, and I didn't get to _plan_ it.»

«Yep,» Aralgo said, staring at her as if she was mad. «Yep. That is obviously our biggest problem.»

«Planning it _is_ half the fun,» she declared, somehow sounding completely serious.

«I am sure it is. Now could we get back to saving our tails, please?»

«Well, actually...» Olana began timidly. «It isn't that bad... remember what our Captain told us. He said... he said they'd last months besieged on the _Daybreak_... with a shred of luck. So all we have to do is make sure someone goes to save the _Daybreak_, and Captain Kandion can confirm our story himself.»

The _arisths _exchanged glances.

«Then open a communications channel, Olana,» Larynia ordered. «Because we haven't got all day.»

Olana went to work, but Carali swivelled a stalk to Larynia and said; «No. Stop.»

Olana hesitated, looking from one to the other, and then at Estrid.

«Maybe we should rethink this one more time,» Carali said authoritatively.

«Rethink what?» Larynia snapped back. «Rethink that we'll run out of life support again in another day and this friendly ship might be the only one we'll ever find?!»

«Rethink what we're going to say,» Carali corrected. «And, also, who'll be speaking? Or did you plan that for yourself, Larynia?»

«Does it matter who speaks?» Larynia replied.

«Matters to me,» Carali growled.

Estrid rolled her stalks in exasperation. The term 'agreeing' had never occurred to those two.

And worse. Aralgo, of course, had to join in. «Matters to me as well,» he said, following Carali's example of glaring at Larynia.

Minalea stepped in between them all. «Fine. I'll talk, if you're going to disagree about it.»

«Even worse,» Aralgo grinned, but while Carali raised his stalks in surprise, Larynia was smiling smugly.

Minalea saw that, of course, and said; «If you have any complaints, I suggest you deliver them directly to Larynia's tail-blade, because personally, I have a speech to prepare.»

Larynia cocked her tail – and raised her eyebrows questioningly at her friend.

Minalea was all innocent. «What? Do you actually mean _I'll_ have to fight them about it, when you can do it in half the time?»

Again, Estrid rolled her stalks in exasperation. Hopeless youngsters.

«Opening communications,» Olana announced. «Whoever is going to speak, now is the time.»

Minealea took her place, but Carali stepped in determinately next to her. They both turned to the holographic screen, where the face of an Andalite warrior appeared.

«Who are you?» he drawled in a voice drenched with annoyance. «And what do you want?»

The lack of courtesy and proper addressing when opening a communications channel made Carali forget what to say. Minalea did not have that problem.

«We are a group of _arisths_ sent by our ship to find help,» she said, taking on a remarkably meek tone of voice. «May I ask your name and rank, and what ship you belong to?»

«This is the _SwiftHoof_,» he snapped back. «I am the First Officer, Jarathur. And we have no time for female _aristh_s playing warrior. Return to your ship at once!»

Minalea's face went purple with anger, but Carali quickly nudged her away from the screen and said; «FO Jarathur, our ship is far away and in need of assistance. Our own craft will not last in space more than another day – we are overtaxing life support with six passengers. We respectfully request docking permission.»

The FO:s strict face seemed to think that over. «Where is your Prince?»

«No Prince or warrior was able to join us.»

«_Aristh_s, without a Prince or warrior?!» the FO cried, almost disbelieving – and disappointed, Estrid noted to her surprise. But no... she must have heard wrong. Why would he be disappointed?

More important things to worry about, she thought to herself. 

«No, FO Jarathur,» Carali continued. «Only five _aristh_s...»

«You said there were six passengers.»

«Yes. There is also a scientist, FO.»

The Andalite's eyes sparkled suddenly with renewed interest. «Very well, _aristh_,» he said quickly. «You have permission to dock. Send your scientist our humblest apologies for keeping him waiting.»

The channel was suddenly cut and Carali blinked in surprise as the face disappeared.

«'Him',» Estrid muttered in a sneer, tail twitching. «Typical warriors. Just wait until –» Then she caught herself, seemed almost embarrassed, and took a deep breath to calm down.

«You heard the FO, Olana,» Carali said. «We're going in to dock.»

Larynia watched through the windows as the Dome ship appeared in the distance. She suddenly shivered.

«What?» Minalea wondered.

«I have a bad feeling,» she said.

«Whatever for?»

«Oh, it's nothing. Except that... the FO was not behaving... naturally. And that sudden interest for Estrid.»

Estrid agreed silently. Most Andalites had a natural respect for science and scientists – but most warriors grew past that, and ended up on a level of almost annoying, forced courteousness, in her case always accompanied by that mocking tone of voice.

The FO had displayed neither.

If it had not been such a detail, and she had not been so relieved at finally finding a friendly ship, Estrid would have pursued that thought.

- - -

"LuRi'il."

At midnight, when they had finished sleeping, the Touched prisoner was still sitting motionlessly in her place. She did not move for two reasons; firstly, the kii-raja who watched her so intently he might have been born for the task. Secondly, she had promised not to escape.

"LuRi'il?"

And she was going to keep that promise, Touched or not, for as long as she could.

She searched her mind again. To her relief, He wasn't there. 'He', being the One, the Whole. If He did appear, she would have to hide what she was doing, and who she was there with – and that would be a problem.

"LuRi'il!"

She realised someone was calling for her, and her eyes snapped open. It was actually nice to be among people who used names again. She had not heard her own since she was only a child... and she was far out of the habit of listening to it.

It was the young one who had called. "Are you hungry?" he asked.

LuRi'il – yes, she had missed using names – gave the food in his hand one look, and replied; "Yes, thank you."

The young one left her the food and returned to his mother.

Such a sweet child. And lucky, to be born free; born in the resistance. Unlike her own daughter, who was born among the Chosen – and when she was old enough, would become one of them.

If LuRi'il was to save her, she would need to be quick. The ceremony for the youngsters was barely days away. But now, she had to prioritise telling the resistance about _Arnaha_. Her daughter was only one of many, after all. And both were warriors; her daughter, if she knew, would understand.

But she knew nothing about _Arnaha_. For her own good: it would have gotten her into trouble.

LuRi'il stretched a hand down for the food KEdi'ir had left her and lifted it to her mouth. The kii-raja saw the movement and his great muscles twitched, but then relaxed again.

A nervous one. LuRi'il smiled, cheek-slits widening and ears leaning outwards, as she began eating.

When she was finished the human sat down in front of her. Not just one of the humans, but _the_ human – the one who spoke her language.

"Could you tell us about _Arnaha_?" she asked.

LuRi'il felt a fleeting thought about the Whole and his opinions pass through her mind, but pushed it firmly as far away as she could and immediately began constructing an excuse. The pain still grabbed hold in her chest, but like so many times before she ignored it.

The Whole had chosen the wrong species. Kelbrid were the ultimate warriors; they had no chance at defying His direct orders – no-one did – but they could and did learn to overlook a lot of pain.

"_Arnaha_ is everywhere they are Chosen," she said, cheek-slits flared open for breath. Pain she could deal with; but that grip on her lungs that made her feel like she was choking was very unnerving, and harder to ignore. Kelbrid were not used to choking. They avoided water, and their throats and necks were so packed with muscles that strangling them would be practically impossible. "And the Whole knows."

"Knows?" the human repeated, and even LuRi'il – who had no practice reading human expressions – could see her alarm.

The Chosen smiled weakly to calm her. "Did you expect us to be able to hide it, _cer_ _y'yhan_?" However a human could come to be called that was beyond LuRi'il; and not her concern. Still, a title was a title. "He knows what we know – more or less."

"And he lets you live?"

"Why not?" LuRi'il felt the great claws on her feet tense in irritation at how easily her group was dismissed, but kept them from snapping. The kii-raja might interpret that as a threat. "He considers us no threat. We are below His concern – far below it. He only cares about those who are directly involved in his plans." Her claws twitched in bitterness despite her attempts to stop them. "_Keh-na,_" she spat.

"Watch your tongue," the human warned.

LuRi'il smiled approvingly. If the human had been among Kelbrid long enough to know swearwords – that were very unusual, considering their eternal politeness – she had certainly been there long enough to earn a promotion to _cer y'yhan_. "Forgive me. The Whole... ignores us... as long as he does not need us. He keeps an eye on us, but no more."

"Does he know you are here?"

"Not yet," LuRi'il assured her, again making the sure the Whole's presence was not making another visit. "I will know when he finds out. And... take care of it. He will give me no orders against you."

"You can't control that," the human said.

"No, I cannot," LuRi'il agreed. "But I will – for a moment, at least – still be able to control these." She lifted her wrist blades, and made a stabbing motion at her chest. Meeting the human's gaze – remarkably calm such, for a human – she added; "That is all I need."

There was a moment of silence. The other humans had stopped what they were doing to stare at the Chosen. One of the adult Kelbrid – Sira'aki, was her name – came to sit next to the human, and whispered something in her ear. The human's expression switched to a mix of surprise and shock, but then she nodded in understanding – a gestured LuRi'il had learned to interpret by watching the humans brought by the Yeerks.

LuRi'il suddenly had a burning suspicion.

Blind? The human was blind, and unable to see her?

The Whole's part of the mind immediately drew a thousand advantages and possibilities out of that thought. Suppressing them made her lungs and heart feel like they were being torn out through her ribcage – in pieces. She closed her eyes and rocked forwards, trying desperately to focus on something else.

"LuRi'il, are you feeling unwell?" Sira'aki asked from somewhere far away.

LuRi'il said; "I... should tell you this before it is... too late. _Arnaha_... they will rally behind you... if you call them." With that she closed her eyes, clasped her arms around her waist, jerked forwards and threw up. Threw up blood.


	21. When Rachel wants her ship back

**21 When Rachel wants her ship back**

:-:-:

Menderash had kept a low profile since they left Cava'ara. He had spoken no more than necessary to the humans in the group, and even though he understood their language he had no plans on befriending the Kelbrid, who mostly let him be, in the same manner they did all the humans – except for Rachel.

Humans. Weak, unintelligent beings who let themselves be led astray by emotions and foolish hopes. Menderash knew very well what they were like, since he now for almost a year had lived in the body of a human.

He sat still under a tree and watched them move about, talk, discuss, even laugh, and entertained himself by pointing out their mistakes and drawbacks. If someone had attacked camp right at that moment, he mused, only that oversized kii-raja would have reacted quickly enough.

If even that. The blind girl's pet monster was busy guarding that Touched.

Another mistake. The prisoner was a major breach of security. And she put a defined restriction to their activities in the area. The Blade ship was very close, and they were all doing no more than glancing up in its general direction with a certain degree of longing.

Menderash most of all. He had not joined this mission – not gotten himself trapped as a human, for tail's sake – to sit around and wait while the humans wasted time.

But even Menderash had to admit that the prisoner could have some strategic value; she knew the enemy, and was willing to help. And he knew that leaving her unwatched could prove disastrous. She herself had sworn not to escape, and as a Kelbrid warrior she would keep that promise – going to extreme lengths to do it, the blind human had explained with a smile. But as long as she was Touched… she was not to be trusted.

As another day and night passed and the group began to feel restless, the so-called leader of the group, Jake, finally agreed to do some exploring – leaving LuRi'il with only the three Kelbrid to guard her. Because if Tom had stayed behind, so would Rachel have had to do – something she was not going to agree on.

Menderash had a few more colourful expressions he wouldn't mind describing that specific behaviour with, but he kept them to himself.

Say whatever you will about humans, but who could have known they would be so defensive? A few words in the wrong direction and the entire group had turned on him like a pack of cornered _farnahs_.

Menderash sighed. It had probably been unavoidable. But it was truly a shame.

:-:-:

The next morning, Jake and the other humans – and Tom, of course – set out to explore.

Their main goal was to see and avoid being seen. And even Marco had to admit how useful Tom was in that department.

"But I'm not saying I trust the overgrown mongrel," he was quick to add. "Or even like him."

Rachel flashed a grin. "That's okay, Marco. I don't think he's too fond of you, either."

"Except possibly as a snack," Jeanne added.

Marco paled and moved carefully away from the kii-raja, not entirely convinced that they were just kidding. "_Jake_," he complained. "Make them _stop_..!"

"Stop terrorizing Marco," Jake ordered.

"Why?" Jeanne replied, smirking smugly. "It's so much _fun_."

"Maybe for you, it is," Marco muttered, keeping a cautious eye on Tom.

"What's the matter, Marco?" Rachel said in a shaky voice, eyes wide. She reached out with a hand to touch his arm. "Don't you love us any more?"

Marco glanced suspiciously at her hand, and then up at Jeanne, who was still smirking. "That depends," he said carefully, eyes narrowed.

Jake rolled his eyes, and both Rachel and Jeanne broke out laughing.

"How much further?" Santorelli asked.

"Not far," Rachel said, serious again. "I haven't been here before, but JaLa'an has, and he knows where the Blade ship is. Just a few minutes away, now, but we don't want to walk straight at it."

"So we should morph and be ready," Jake said, and began his own morph to tiger.

The others followed his lead. Marco morphed gorilla, as always, and Jeanne turned into her panther. Santorelli was a rhino, and Tobias morphed Andalite, thinking his hawk would do little good against the Kelbrid – not that Andalite would be much better.

Menderash gritted his teeth when he saw that, but again kept his mouth shut.

Their various morphs made them more or less give up any ideas of sneaking. Jake's tiger, Jeanne's panther and Tobias's Andalite could sneak well enough, but neither gorilla nor rhino was fit for the task.

Tom scouted ahead, keeping just within sight and keeping contact with Rachel, who was walking with a hand on Tobias's shoulder to guide her.

When Tom stopped dead in his tracks, tail twitching, they all stopped behind him. Rachel left Tobias and carefully made her way up to the kii-raja's side, as usual placing a hand on his head.

"Show me what you see, Tom," she murmured, thumb stroking his ear. "Show me what you see."

Tom sent her a picture of their surroundings, and a summary of what his nose and ears told him was further away, out of sight. Rachel thought for a moment, before signalling to the others to be quiet and follow.

Tom and Rachel led the group past a lot of posted guards without any incidents – that is, none that were not immediately handled. The security was so slack that Jake began wondering if they were heading straight into a very well-planned trap. But his own tiger senses gave no warning signals; they were not surrounded, and they kept a good distance between themselves and any larger gatherings of Yeerks or Kelbrid.

Curiosity led them towards the centre of the guarded area. They passed by the guards with less and less room to spare, running into more and more, having to deal with them before they caused any trouble. How they avoided discovery by the rest was beyond Jake.

Finally, they reached a large clearing. Leaving the others behind, Jake continued forwards with Tom, Rachel and thereby also Tobias. They edged up to where the last trees grew and peered out.

There was a ship. A cruiser, minimally guarded by two human-Controllers, probably technicians, who stood leaned over a table, deep in a discussion and inattentive to the world around them.

"Well well well…" Rachel murmured, a smile appearing on her face. "What have we here?"

«It's the _Rachel_,» Tobias said suddenly.

"What?" she snapped.

Jake, who had been looking more around than at the ship, spying for guards, now turned his gaze towards the cruiser and focused his tiger eyes. He saw that Tobias was right. «Yep,» he said. «It is. And it looks like the Yeerks have been kind enough to repair her for us…»

"I'm sure they didn't do it on purpose," Rachel grinned, a hand gripping one of the blades that grew along Tom's spine, as she 'listened' to his pictures.

«So what do we do?» Jake wondered, mostly to himself. The idea of stealing their ship back was… tempting. But the risk was enormous – who knew what precautions the Yeerks had taken? – and it would blow their cover, and running their chances of sneaking up on the Blade ship and freeing Ax. And Ax had higher priority than their ship.

«We could grab it,» Tobias mused. «There aren't enough guards to stop even the three of us. Only those two humans.»

"And another human on the other side of the ship," Rachel reported. "Tom can smell one."

«And grabbing it might be harder than it seems,» Jake warned. «We should retreat back to the others.»

«Retreat,» Tobias huffed disdainfully. «The magic word. What do you think, Rach?»

"I've never liked that term, personally…"

Jake sighed mentally. «Listen. If we steal the ship now, it'll only mean trouble. We should pull back and –»

"And do what? Retreat further?" Rachel snapped in a hiss. "This isn't an opportunity that comes back once a day, Jake. It's now, or probably never; and I'm more fond of now. I don't know about the rest of the group, but I'm going to get my ship back."

And before anyone could stop her, she had stepped out of cover and into the clearing, Tom already just a golden blur, leaping towards the technicians.

Half a second later the first technician went down, the claws of a paw larger than even Jake's ripping across his face to knock him out – but the blow probably ended up snapping his neck – and the second fell with Tom's jaws around his skull.

Rachel called her beast back in a soft voice, and from the ferocious display Tom at once turned meek again, turning and obeying at once.

«Rachel, this is madness!» Jake said, as he and Tobias came out into the clearing to join her.

"Maybe so," Rachel admitted. "But now, if we're quick, they'll never know what hit them and the ship will be hid in the lake with the fighters."

«You're not going to change your mind about this, are you?» Tobias asked.

"Of course not."

«Too late now, anyway,» Jake said, glancing at the two dead Controllers. «Tobias, get the others. Quickly.»

Tobias glared at him with his main eyes. «Do it yourself.»

«Could you stop this attitude, Tobias? We're in a mission here, and there's no room for old grudges.»

«Too bad.»

Jake shook his tiger head in exasperation, and said privately to Rachel; «You ask him. He listens to you.»

Rachel raised a hand to touch Tobias's arm. "Do as he asks, Tobias."

Tobias swivelled a stalk suspiciously towards her, main eyes narrowed as they glared at Jake, but then turned and cantered away.

"So now what?" Rachel inquired. "We enter the ship, or we wait?" Tom was at the back edge of the clearing, scouting, and Rachel felt safe enough.

Jake did not. His tiger tail twitched, ears flicking back and forth, searching for sounds. «I think the best thing to –»

"What a pleasant surprise," a third voice broke in.

Jake spun around. Standing by the front of the _Rachel_, merely a hundred meters or so away, was that flaxen-haired girl again. He lowered his head and snarled, but then recognized her, and the snarl died away into confusion.

It was Melissa Chapman.

:-:-:

The TO of the _SwiftHoof_, called Kindelil, was surprisingly young, and very intelligent. But right from the start Estrid disliked him.

He and a good dozen alert-and-ready warriors were there to meet them when they had docked the _Phantom_ with the bigger ship and stepped out of it, into what was known as docking station three. He introduced himself by curtly stating rank and name, barely looked at the five _aristh_s, and his first question was: «Where is the scientist?»

Estrid had stepped forwards and replied in a voice that was as cold as she could make it; «I am right here. My name is Estrid-Corill-Darrath.»

«I beg your pardon, scientist,» the TO said, making a minimal bow with his stalks. «If you would be kind enough to follow me..? There is something we need you to attend to.»

Estrid hesitated. She did not wish to anger the crew just after coming to the ship. The request sounded more like a demand, and something told her that if the TO did not get his way he would use those warriors to force his words through. But she let her stalks sweep over the _arisths_ behind her, noticed that Larynia had raised her tail, Minalea as well, and Aralgo's main eyes were carefully narrowed.

«It has been a long trip and I am weary,» Estrid declared with her best arrogant-scientist tone. Not something she practiced often. «So are my companions. Please lead us to our quarters, and we shall see about your errand tomorrow.»

Kindelil's face flashed to both surprise at her denial and anger, and for a chilling moment Estrid thought he actually would set his guards on them. His hand was half-raised as if to beckon them… but the moment passed and his hand was lowered.

«I am afraid this cannot wait,» he said. He glanced up at the menacing form of the _Phantom_.

«I have established a mind-link to the computer, TO,» Olana assured him carefully. «To keep mistakes from occurring. The ship is under control.»

«Very good, _aristh_,» Kindelil approved, although he looked more alarmed than relieved. «Scientist? _Now_ would be a good time.»

Estrid felt like obeying. What was the worst thing that could happen? She was about to take a step forwards, when –

«Why the hurry?» Carali wondered lowly, taking a place next to Estrid, tail half-way lifted. «You were not even aware that she was coming up until a few minutes ago, and already you have tasks for her?»

Estrid felt a wave of thankfulness.

«SILENCE, _ARISTH_!» Kindelil roared, but Carali held his ground, glaring at the tactical officer. «You are out of line.» He took on an arrogant face; but Estrid did not miss the stalk that worriedly glanced up at the _Phantom_. «As all our _aristh_ quarters are, for the moment, filled up, you will have to stay in your ship. In the morning, then, scientist – if you do not mind.»

A bow – hurried, but of the same mocking type Estrid knew so well – and Kindelil left the docking station, swiftly followed by his warriors.

The _arisths_ and Estrid went back inside the safety of their cruiser.

«Well, glad to be rid of him,» Aralgo said.

Olana went directly to the controls, a hand pulling absentmindedly at a stalk, expression distant. She began working at once.

«I don't trust him,» Estrid revealed bluntly.

No-one answered, until…

«Neither do I,» Olana murmured suddenly. «Look at this. I knew he had to be lying!»

«What?» Minalea asked, joining Olana to gaze down at the screens. From the way her head leaned to the side, none of it made any sense to her at all.

«He said the _aristh_s' quarters were full. But this is a standard-model Dome ship, and such a ship has quarters for sixty _aristh_s! And I've never even heard of a ship with more than ten. And, there are generally only a few hundred _aristh_s at the Academy nowadays. Sending sixty to the same ship is unheard of!»

«Sixty?» Aralgo repeated sceptically, frowning. «If this ship has sixty _aristh_s…»

«It would be strange, yes,» Olana agreed, turning her gaze back to the computers, fingers swiftly dancing over the control boards.

«But it would explain why they weren't happy to see us,» Carali pointed out.

«Although not why they were so happy about Estrid,» Larynia reminded them. «What are you looking for, Olana?»

«Crew lists.»

«Hold on now!» Carali exclaimed. «You're hacking the database? The _SwiftHoof's_ database?»

Olana's stalks swivelled towards him. «Yes,» she said calmly.

«That's my Olana,» Minalea chipped in proudly. Everyone ignored her.

«Do you know how much trouble that would get us into if they track you?»

«I don't get tracked,» Olana assured him. Then turned her concentration back to the computer.

«Have you hacked the _Daybreak's_ database?» Aralgo wondered curiously.

«Lots of times.» She shifted her weight to another set of hooves, seeing how Estrid's eyebrows were raised in disapproval. «Minalea wanted to see how her military record was,» she explained.

«How was it?» questioned Aralgo innocently, but he was unable to hide the grin that peered forth in his stalks.

«Not spotless,» Minalea admitted, flicking her tail.

«Details, Minalea, I need details…» he pressed, eyes glittering.

«There!» Olana cried. «I'm in. Let's see… list of _aristh_s.» She went silent and blinked in surprise.

«What?»

«There isn't an _aristh_ on the entire ship. All the quarters are empty.»

«Empty?» Aralgo muttered. «Then why did the TO –»

«Check again,» Larynia ordered.

Olana did. «Yes… they're empty. The area has some strange sort of life support, though…»

«Never mind that,» Carali said, taking a step back as if to distance himself from the rest of them. «Who cares, anyway? We're finally back with Andalites, and on a safe ship. Personally, I couldn't be happier. And even if they do accuse us of deserting, at least we'll be safe. Our careers might be over, but our lives won't. I'm going to sleep. And I'll see you bunch of paranoids in the morning – and that includes you, Aralgo.»

«Paranoid?» Aralgo huffed. «_Me_?» But after giving it some though, he smiled wryly. «Maybe just a bit.»

Minalea flicked her tail again, glancing at Carali as he spun around and left the bridge. «Hate to say it, but I think Carali might be right. I mean, sure that TO and the FO were acting a bit weird, but what can you expect? They're adults!»

Snickering at her own bad joke, she pranced away from the bridge.

«TO and FO,» Aralgo said, but only to himself. «Where is the Captain?»

:-:-:

Aralgo woke in the morning to hear a thought-speech voice calling from outside the _Phantom_. He left his quarters, muttering to himself, and trotted quickly to the bridge to open the door.

Three warriors waited outside. One was a fighter pilot, introducing himself as Lamnar, the second was the ship's trainer and teacher, Sathor, and the third was a nasty-looking warrior sent by the tactical officer to fetch Estrid. Sathor immediately gave the order to wake the others and bring them out for a lesson in tail-fighting.

Aralgo did as he was told with a mental groan. It was unavoidable, he supposed. As soon as adults were within half a light-year, they would find some excuse to hold lessons.

Estrid refused to come out and stayed in her quarters, mumbling something about pretending to be ill and please send her apologies, and the warrior who had been sent for her trotted away, dark in the face. But soon after the troop of sleepy _arisths_ had assembled outside the _Phantom_.

Lamnar took Olana aside and asked her to show him around the _Phantom_, which she gladly did. The others practiced fighting stances and strikes until even Minalea's sloppy tail-handling was more or less acceptable.

Sathor left, taking Lamnar with him, and informing the group that he would be expecting them in the tactic simulation room that same afternoon.

«That's out of thought-speech range from the _Phantom_,» Estrid pointed out as she emerged from the cruiser.

«So what?» Carali wondered, not even looking up – he was intently focused on practicing a very complicated strike.

«Angle your blade a bit more at the root,» Larynia advised, watching him. «And it is not supposed to end up tip down – the flat of the blade should be down.»

«And since when are you the expert?» Carali snapped.

«Since I was old enough to walk,» she said calmly. «Do as I tell you and you might actually get it right.»

Carali glared at her, and she glared back, both their tails slowly being raised.

«Carali, she's right,» Estrid said with fake patience. «Try it.»

«And you, scientist, of course know _everything _about tail-fighting too, I suppose,» Carali commented dryly. «In fact, is there anyone here except me who isn't an _expert_?»

«With Ajaht-Litsom-Esth as your brother it is hard not to pick a few things up,» Estrid said. «Now about the tactical simulations room this afternoon…»

«We have to go,» Olana said. «Or they'll be furious. We don't want that. Oh, Lamnar offered me a tour of the fighters' docking stations instead, so that's where I'll be going.» She glanced at Estrid and Larynia, watching to see if they would argue.

«I don't trust these people,» Estrid said. «But if everyone just stays within thought-speech range to the _Phantom _and you keep your link to the computer, Olana, I'll be happy.»

«Paranoid,» Carali muttered, turning his attention back to his strike.

«The Dome is in thought-speech range, isn't it?» Aralgo asked. Estrid confirmed that, so Aralgo continued… «In that case, I am going to go have a proper run. I'm hungry.» And he left the docking station.

Olana went back inside the _Phantom_, mumbling about curiosity and that strange life support discovered earlier. Minalea and Carali practiced a bit more, (until Minalea grew tired of it and went inside the _Phantom_ to take a break, after which she was too busy grinning mischievously to herself to focus seriously on any practicing) while Estrid and Larynia pointed out their errors – much to Carali's annoyance.

It was not long until Aralgo returned, with a surprised smile on his face. «You'll never believe who I just saw,» he said, half-giddy. «In the Dome.»

«Who?» Minalea wondered.

«Well, whoever it was, he looked just like… I mean, if I hadn't known better I would have sworn it was the great Prince Aximili himself! But he's on the _Intrepid_, everyone knows that…»

Aralgo grinned sheepishly. But Estrid and Larynia were staring; first at him, then at each other. Everything was quiet for a moment, until they both suddenly turned in silent agreement and left the room at a gallop, speeding past Aralgo and out the door.

**«**Hey!» Aralgo cried in surprise. **«**Where are they going?»

**«**Aximili is Larynia's cousin,» Minalea said, rolling her stalks as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

_**«**What_?» Carali managed, and both he and Aralgo stared dumbly at her. She just smiled back sweetly, and Carali asked; **«**But what about Estrid? What's she got to do with the Prince?»

But before anyone could answer Olana called from inside the _Phantom_: **«**Ehm… could you come and take a look? You might want to see this…»


	22. Who Estrid encounters

**22 Who Estrid encounters**

:-:-:

Jake stared at Melissa through his tiger eyes for a moment, trying to decide what to do. Rachel, though, at once raised a hand and drew her breath to call Tom, who stood still as a statue where he had been when Melissa had first spoken, watching her. But he was too far away. Rachel and Jake were somewhere halfway between Melissa and Tom, and even they were too far away to do any good.

"Don't call him," Melissa warned, eyes intently focused to see any motion the beast made. "I know how fast he is. But however fast he runs, I'll have time to scream. And if I scream, you'll have every Kelbrid and Controller within hearing's way here." She smiled smugly. "That is, close to two hundred of them."

Rachel's face twisted with anger but then grew expressionless. She slowly lowered her hand again. "What do you want?"

It was then Jake realised that Rachel had not recognized her friend. Her view of the world was through Tom's eyes, and Jake was not exactly sure about the exact capabilities of kii-raja sight. She did not know who she had been about to set Tom on.

_Maybe for the best_, Jake thought to himself.

«Rachel,» he said in private thought-speech. «I'm going to warn the others to keep back, and get around behind her. Keep her busy.»

Rachel's nod was very discreet. Jake sent his instructions to Marco and Santorelli, and then listened as Melissa spoke; "What do I want?" She asked and laughed with fake cheerfulness. "I want out. I want away from here. I want to go back home, and I want it as soon as possible."

She let her gaze wander from Tom and towards Jake. "Let's see… the tiger. Jake, huh? Am I right?" another smile. "I'm right. No mystery how you got here. You, though," she continued, nodding towards Rachel, "confuse me. Because you're supposed to be dead. I had your body ejected into space myself – you have no idea what I had to go through for Ithran 238 to allow _that_. And yet, here you are. Unless…" Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Unless you're not really Rachel. You could be someone else, in morph. Then again, why would anyone morph you?"

"You know my name?" Rachel snapped.

Melissa rolled her eyes. "Of course I know your name!"

«Jake?» Marco's low thought-speech-voice said. «We're in place. Jeanne's crouched up behind her and this clearing is more or less surrounded. Hard to do with only the five of us, but we did the best we could.»

«Good,» Jake said, to all of them. «Wait for my signal, Jeanne, then pounce on her – knock her out at once, you hear me? You others, keep all ears and eyes open.»

«No problem,» Jeanne replied, and Jake could see the black shadow that was hiding only a few steps behind Melissa, well within a leap's distance.

Rachel's eyes were narrowed, still staring out into space. "How? How do you know my name?" she said, trying to keep the bewilderment out of her voice.

"That's pretty obvious, I think," Melissa replied. "What isn't obvious, is how you got here. Would you care to explain how you survived, Rachel? A neat trick – wouldn't mind being able to pull it off myself."

Rachel looked a bit baffled. But she had been listening intently to Melissa's voice and now – finally recognizing it – said; "Mel? Is that you?"

Melissa nodded; a bit taken aback herself, Jake noted, perhaps by how long it took for Rachel to recognize her. "Yes, of course. Who else?"

Rachel looked sad. "So they did infest you after all. Jeanne?"

Jeanne pounced. Melissa had no time to scream.

:-:-:

Minalea was the first to heed Olana's call. Her playfully bouncing leaps carried her into the _Phantom_, where the limited space forced her to slow to a trot. Carali and Aralgo, who followed from a distance, failed to notice how Minalea lifted her hooves a bit more than she had to as she passed one of the consoles.

Aralgo did not lift his hooves. Which, unavoidably, caused him to stumble over one of the prankster's trip wires. He fell straight down, but at once struggled back up, in time to see Minalea watching him with a wide grin, fighting to keep back her normal giggling.

«You and your trip wires!» Aralgo growled. «Don't you ever tire of them?»

«Hasn't happened yet,» Minalea replied, still grinning.

Carali rolled his eyes. He, personally, had by then learned to watch his step. Aralgo had been asleep during most of their time on the ship, and had not. «Olana?» he sighed. «What did you find that was so important?»

«Look at this…» Olana said. «It's that life support again. According to the ship's own record, the _aristh_ quarters are loaded with some type of cargo that uses up a lot of life support energy. A _lot_. I'm downloading the energy codes to find out for what, but it is going to take some time. Plus, the activity level in the _aristh_ quarters is way above average, even if this had been a ship with _arisths_ –»

«And that's all?» Aralgo wondered, absent-mindedly kicking at air with his front legs to make sure his knees still worked.

«No, not all. There is a point to this; _think_. What kind of battle ship carries cargo? And even if they would, what kind of cargo uses life support energy – that much of it? And what kind of cargo would be visited often enough to raise the activity level to that height – it's higher than on the bridge!»

«You found all that out by hacking the database?» Minalea wondered. «About the activity level?»

«Yes. It is only a matter of measuring the air consumption related to–»

«Spare us the details!» Carali interrupted. He shifted his weight to another set of hooves, looking a bit troubled. «Any guesses on this cargo?»

«We'll find out as soon as the energy code downloads properly,» Olana promised.

«How long will that take?»

«An hour, a day… it is impossible to say. This download is somewhat complicated.»

«Then it is better to go and check,» Carali suggested. «Are the _aristh_ quarters in thought-speech range?»

«No.»

Carali sighed. «That cannot be helped.» He turned around and headed towards the doorway.

«Wait for me!» Minalea exclaimed and leapt after him. «I'm coming with you.»

He gave her a look. «Minalea, this might require discretion. And, honestly, you and discretion do not match.»

«But you can't go without me!»

«Why not?»

Minalea grinned. «Because it's obvious they don't want us down there. They're hiding something. Which means there'll be locked doors. To open them you'll need someone with a certain degree of… _skill_.»

«You think you can get past security and locked doors better than I can?»

«Carali,» she laughed, «I've opened locked doors since I was old enough to wonder what was on the other side.» She pranced out of the _Phantom_. Carali hesitated, not for anything wanting her to get something – _anything_ – her way, but not at once coming up with some crushing remark that gave him a fault-proof excuse to leave her behind.

Minalea stopped prancing a few meters away and asked if he was coming or not.

Carali muttered a few choice curses and followed.

«Well, Olana,» Aralgo said. «Just you and me.» He grinned, but then narrowed his eyes in pretended suspicion. «Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?»

«Neither, and it won't last,» Olana replied. «Aralgo, can you do me a favour? Can you watch the computer and make sure the download of that code isn't tracked?»

«I should be able to manage that… Where are you going?»

«I need to go down to the fighter's docking station for my lesson with Lamnar. I'll be back later. Oh, and don't walk around too much. Minalea took a break from practicing while you were gone, but she found other ways to keep busy – and you know what that means.»

Aralgo made a wry face and turned to the computer as Olana trotted away.

:-:-:

When Melissa awoke she was tied, hand and foot, by something that cut sharply into her skin. At first, she was too drowsy to worry about it, although a small presence in the back of her head sent alarm bells ringing. It was only when she was aware enough to draw the conclusion that what held her trapped were a set of the ever-so-thin chains normally used to tie Kelbrid horns that she began worrying.

The thin but strong chains were wrapped around her wrists and fingers, and another set around her ankles. Kelbrid knew their way around metals (as proven by the ability of melting together that their very unusual fighters had), and she knew at once that morphing larger would be very unpleasant; but she could still morph small.

She moved, trying to turn to free the arm she was lying on, and immediately heard a loud snarl.

Her eyes snapped open, and she stared straight into the face of that kii-raja.

Melissa twisted around with some difficulty, now moving very slowly, and managed to sit up, but never took her eyes of the beast.

Nasty creatures, those kii-raja. She'd acquired everything she could that originated from the long lost Kelbrid home world – all of them were useful morphs – but she had not gotten her hands on a kii-raja. Not for lack of trying. It was just that, after having had an arm torn off, a bite around her side that almost cost her her life, and a row of back spikes stabbed into her (from her knee and up to her shoulder, not very pleasant and very surprising: who'd have thought those spikes were actually used as weapons?) and still giving her the feeling that she'd gotten away easy each time, she had gotten the picture and decided it wasn't worth the trouble.

She had morphed away the damage, of course, but the incidents had given her a healthy amount of respect for the Kelbrid's favourite pet.

"Sorry about the chains, Melissa," Rachel's voice said, and Melissa realised that her childhood friend was sitting next to the kii-raja. "But it's necessary – or so certain people insist." She made a wry face.

"For what?" Melissa snapped, struggling in an attempt to get to her feet, using the tree trunk behind her for support. "Let me go!"

"Not so fast," Jake warned, and gently pushed her back down. "not until you answer a few questions."

Melissa glared at him, trying to remember what Jake was like. But she only remembered a young, serious boy with a slow smile who hung around in the mall wasting quarters – the boy who was her best friend's cousin. The Jake in front of her was not even a shadow of that boy. A soldier – a general. She didn't know him.

Fine.

She didn't know herself any more, and that didn't hurt her either.

Casting a glance around, she found a clearing she hadn't seen before. A camp was set up, and there was a mismatched group of individuals living there. She noted a red-tailed hawk perched on a branch – Tobias, had to be – and Marco, standing slightly behind Jake, arms crossed as he watched her. Also, three humans she did not recognize, sitting further away, and three Kelbrid. Not Touched.

No. Four Kelbrid: and the fourth _was_ Touched. A prisoner. Strange.

Wait. A Touched female. That disappearance they had bothered her about a day or so ago, could it be..? Yes; of course. A piece of a puzzle fell into place. She immediately wondered how that would work to her advantage.

The daughter. But why would her capturers care about their other prisoner's daughter? Probably not. At least she'd get a good hold of the other prisoner, easily enlisting her help if she would need it.

Storing the discovery away for future use, she turned back towards Jake. "What kind of questions?"

"First of all, what are you?"

"Don't you know that?" she smiled sweetly and batted her eyes at him. "I'm a girl, Jake, or is it that hard to tell?" Taking a quick breath, she added in a roar; "Now untie me!"

"Someone's used to getting their way," Marco muttered. "Melissa, you know that's not what Jake meant. I mean, he's a bit slow on that department, but not _that_ slow –"

"Marco, would you mind?" Rachel wondered in a dangerous tone, and Tom turned to glare at him. Marco's mouth was shut so quickly that you could hear his teeth slam together.

"Completely hopeless." Rachel shook her head to herself. "Mel, the question is if you're a Touched or a Controller."

Melissa considered it for a moment, but decided neither answer would benefit her at all. "Neither."

"Told you so," Rachel muttered at Jake, stroking Tom's ears with a gleam of pride in her eyes.

Jake's forehead had a concerned wrinkle. "I know. You said Tom could tell, and maybe he can – you'd know better than I would – but what I don't understand is _how_."

"Neither do I," Rachel admitted. "The Yeerks, let a perfectly good host go free? Not likely. Unless it's at the One's command. He's made a few humans into Touched."

"Touched are voluntary," one of the humans Melissa did not recognize said. Then huffed disdainfully. "And that means the humans volunteered."

"Menderash," Marco growled. "Shut up."

Menderash? An Andalite name, if she had ever heard one. His attitude was Andalite, too. And needed some drastic changing.

"There's actually an Andalite Touched, too," Melissa informed him sharply. "It's not just humans."

"Andalite Touched?" Menderash asked, swivelling towards her and standing up in one single – but slightly clumsy – motion. "One of the five prisoners?"

Melissa nodded. "Yes. The female."

Menderash turned pale. "Arayah!" he exclaimed. "But… how… no." He shook himself, stared at Melissa as if he couldn't believe her. Then pulled himself back together and removed all emotions from his face.

"She's gone back to your home world with the other four – although they'll be dead by the time they get there. One of the Whole's plans."

"The home world?" Menderash cried, and he dropped the unreadable face.

"You heard me. The One is aiming for the glorious Andalites. And there's nothing you can do about it. Except if…" she smiled smugly, watching their expressions, which all had turned to a certain degree of horror. Well, maybe not horror, but at least alarm.

Good enough.

"Except if what?" Rachel asked.

"You can start by untying me. Then I'll tell you more."

Menderash had turned to Jake. "Captain, this is highly serious… if she speaks the truth…"

Jake glanced down at Rachel, who nodded. "We can untie her. As long as Tom's near, she's going nowhere. She probably knows that, too."

Marco bent down, muttering, to free Melissa's hands and ankles. "No tricks," he warned.

"Of course not," she agreed smoothly. She rubbed her wrists and rolled her shoulders to ease the stiffness from being tied. "Where should I start?"

"I wouldn't mind an explanation to this neither-Touched-nor-Controller business," Rachel said.

"Simple, my friend," Melissa replied. "I was a Controller, under Ithran 238, who was a complete idiot with an attitude problem. When the Whole asked for humans to become Chosen, I volunteered."

"Why would anyone do that?" Marco wondered.

"It got the Yeerk out of my head," Melissa explained, shuddering. "And at that point, I'd have gotten myself stuck in ant morph to do that."

"So you became a Touched," Jake concluded.

"Yes. But we Touched call ourselves Chosen. It sounds so much nicer."

"And yet, you're not a Touched."

"Obviously."

"Then something's not right. Unless…" His eyes narrowed. "There's a way to get rid of Touch?"

Melissa shrugged. "Maybe."

"Answer the question, Melissa," Marco ordered.

"Oh, no I won't," Melissa replied, meeting his gaze and nonchalantly tossing her hair over her shoulder. "First, I want a promise. I'll answer all your questions – about that Andalite, about Touch, about the Yeerks or the One – and help you in any way I can but I'm not doing any of it for free. In return, I want –"

"You're not in a position to make demands," Jake growled. "You're a prisoner. You'll do as you're told, if you want to live, because your life depends on our good will and word – _my_ word, to be precise. Now answer the question!"

Melissa glanced up at his stony face. She knew that tone of voice – not from him, perhaps, but in general. It was the tone of someone you would be wise not to ignore.

But this was Jake. There must be some shred of humanity left in him. Nothing could have changed the boy she had known that much that he'd actually… no – he had to have some decency left. At least, she hoped so.

"And if I refuse?" she wondered.

Jake's face grew grim, and Melissa began speculating if it would have been better not to provoke him, but then Rachel stood up and placed a hand on her cousin's shoulder.

"Jake, don't be so hard on her," she said lowly. "She's been through a lot."

Jake glared at Melissa. "Been through a lot and totally changed. That's not the Melissa Chapman you knew from before the war, Rachel."

"And you're not the Jake I knew from then, either," she reminded him. "Everyone's changed. Hear her out."

"We can't let her go, anyway, and you know it," Jake said. "Not now."

"I think we can. If she's anything like the old Melissa, we can trust her if she gives her word on something."

Jake looked doubtful.

"Jake," Rachel said. "She's my best friend – aside from Cassie. I trust her. You don't, but you should trust my judgment."

The leader of the Animorphs sighed and turned back to Melissa. "What do you have in mind?"

Melissa hid a smile and silently congratulated herself as she began speaking.

:-:-:

«Do you think he really saw Aximili?» Estrid asked as she and Larynia halted by the final turn before reaching the Dome.

«We'll find out,» Larynia replied. «and if my cousin _is_ here, maybe he can explain what's going on.» She started towards the turn, but stopped. «It will take a while to search the entire Dome, so the best thing to do is to split up. If there's trouble…»

«Then we return to the _Phantom_ as soon as possible,» Estrid finished. «I'll go first, and head left. Follow after a few minutes, and go right. We'll meet in the other end.»

With that, she took a deep breath and took off into the corridor.

She forgot about the gravity shift between the corridor and the Dome. Momentum made her stumble as what formerly had been forwards suddenly was up, and what had been the floor suddenly was a wall. Recovering from the surprise and straightening back up she glanced around.

The Doom, often filled with Andalites, was deserted. It was almost ghastly. Estrid ignored that and purposefully trotted off along the left wall, stalks scanning, but tail forced down into relaxed. It was silly, actually, to believe anything that had gotten as far as to the middle of a Dome ship could be harmful. Logic told her that Carali was probably right. It was paranoia.

Then again, paranoia had, at times, probably saved lives.

She kept at a speedy trot, pacing herself and slowing down every time she happened to break into a gallop, and had not yet come far when she heard the voices.

«That is none of my concern. Deal with it!» The very tone sent a chill through Estrid's tail.

«Of course, Whole,» another voice replied. Kindelil, the tactical officer. «We shall take care of it. It is only… their ship, Whole… it is smaller than ours but if they fire all weapons it will cause too much damage for us to wish to risk it. Things shall be as you command, but it… may take time.»

«I was under the impression that these were only harmless youngsters, aside from the scientist,» the chilling voice of the so-called Whole snapped. «Be rid of them if they are in the way. Get that scientist, get what is in her head, and do it now. Being a scientist, she must know _something_ of value – young or not.»

Estrid had frozen in place as she listened, stalks quivering uncertainly. Behind a group of _ceen_ _fa_ trees, just in front of her, was the contour of a single Andalite. There must be a second one as well. The voices were both in thought-speech… she had stopped listening to the words by the next time the one called the Whole spoke. That was when she realised she knew that voice.

It was Aximili's.

That chilling, cold voice was – somehow – Aximili's.

Estrid decided she had to go closer. Close enough to _see_ the speakers. She gathered her shreds of courage and silently, slowly, made her way up to the _ceen_ _fa_ trees.

Stopping under the branches of one of them, she stared at the TO and the… being… that looked like Aximili – but was not Aximili.

Two-dimensional.

The surprise made her forget she was standing right out in the open, and by the time she remembered Kindelil's ever-watchful stalks had detected her.

«The scientist!» he exclaimed.

The two-dimensional creature, the Whole, spun around in a way that should have been impossible for such a creature to do, and stared straight at Estrid. Suddenly he was shining with a green glow, and the pupils of his eyes gleamed dangerously.

«You!» he spat, and his eyes narrowed. «_That_ scientist. Another coincidence – typical Ellimist. I should have known. Stay back; I'll deal with this one myself.»

The TO folded his gaze down and obediently took a step away.

Estrid stayed where she was as if her hooves had grown into the grass. She found that she was trembling, all eyes fixated on the creature in front of her that so resembled Aximili.

«Estrid-Corill-Darrath,» he said in a silky, almost hypnotic voice. «Pardon my rudeness; we have not been properly introduced. I know you, through the being whose form I am using, but you do not know me. I am the Whole, the One who is both Many and All. I control the Kelbrid, I control the Yeerks… and I control Aximili.»

Estrid did not answer, still staring at the being.

_Two-dimensional. Two-dimensional_… her mind repeated the word over and over. _A two-dimensional creature who was Aximili… no, who held_ _Aximili… yes, yes; that was it, held –_

«But my puppet is lonely, scientist,» the One continued. «He remembers you; his hearts are eased to see that you are alive, and well. Come to me, my dear. Come. Join him.»

_Held_. _Held_… the thoughts in her head faded as and urge to do as the One bid overwhelmed her. She took an involuntary step forwards, feeling dizzy, feeling she had forgotten –

_No_. She had forgotten nothing; there was nothing to forget. All she knew was the soft, welcoming smile in the One's eyes as she took another step, almost falling forwards instead of walking.

«Yes, my dear,» crooned his voice in the back of her head. «Come. Come to me… take my hands.»

Still limited to his two dimensions, the One stretched out his hands towards her and Estrid took another step, preparing to place her own hands in his and –

«Good scientist. Come. Come and hold Aximili company…»

_Hold? Why was that..?_

_Aximili. Held_. _The creature held…_

A spark of doubt and she reeled back. The expression on the One's face flickered to anger – and back to that welcoming smile.

«Estrid, my dear… sweetest. Come. Do not be afraid, I shall not harm you.»

Estrid felt something tugging at her, beckoning her forwards and a hoof was raised to take another step… slowly, too slowly, so slowly that… the Whole lost his patience.

«Come! _Come_, I say!»

That broke the enchantment. Estrid was back, her thoughts her own, and again she stared at the One.

«I command you, scientist! Come!»

The same beckoning, the same feeling that she _had_ _to_ obey, _had_ _to_ listen… but Estrid steadied herself and refused, thereby finding that she did not 'have to' at all. «No.»

«_What_?»

«No!» she cried, strengthened by this discovery. «No, I won't!»

«You must!» the Whole roared, and began visibly growing. «You must! I _command_ _you_!»

«No, you don't!» Estrid retorted, though the beckoning grew stronger and she was again trembling, to the depth of her being wanting to do as the foul creature bid – but still, she refused. «You make people think they have to obey, but your control is an illusion – a trick of their own minds!»

The being towered before her, almost twice his normal height, and his voice shook the entire Dome. «I command –»

«_No_! You can't control me!» Estrid shrieked, beginning to stumble away, stumble back, almost falling over her own hooves and unbalanced by her own tail. «You can't control me! You can't control me!»

The One stopped up, stopped growing, and stared down at her. «Not yet,» he growled. «But if you do not join my Taken freely, you shall by force. And then we shall see who controls whom!»

Estrid's back hoof caught a _ceen_ _fa_ root that stuck out of the grass and she fell. Before she had time to get back up, his burning green glow was everywhere around her and he dove forwards to grab her.


	23. About energycodes

About energycodes  
  
.  
  
.  
  
.  
  
.  
  
What Melissa wanted was quite simple, Marco had to admit. And probably more than worth what she would give in return. She was practically handing over the keys to not only the Blade Ship, but to all the secrets of the Yeerks, the Kelbrid – and anything she happened to know about the One.  
  
And she knew the secrets of Touch.  
  
It turned out the Yeerks had done some research on the subject, and found that Touch was simply the addition of a gene; a change in DNA. Firstly, it helped the One find his Chosen when they were far away. It made the pupils of them shine green, made it impossible fro them to go directly against the One's bidding – much as it was impossible to bend your elbow the wrong way – and added a very cruel reflex: as the thought of food could make someone's mouth water, the thought and action of displeasing the One caused pain, and if it went on long enough individual cells in muscles and organs would begin to tear themselves apart, ultimately leading to the Touched's death.  
  
Melissa spoke of it in a very monotone voice, something dangerous glinting in the edge of her eyes, and Marco figured that she probably had first-hand experience of it all and considered the scientific approach to paint a very vague picture indeed.  
  
But there was a way to get rid of it – and it was as simple as just morphing. Melissa was smiling as she explained that when a person first acquired the morphing power their DNA was stored away so that the body would always know what to demorph into. She asked Menderash to confirm that, something he grumpily did, and with a smug expression she continued by saying; "The rest is simple. The One adds a gene, and there's no medicine against it, no way to get rid of it… but if the person morphs and demorphs they will still demorph to their original DNA – without that extra gene. Of course, you have to be morphable before you become Touched. And if the One ever finds out, he'll banish morphing and things will get complicated."  
  
Surprising everyone – maybe mostly herself – LuRi'il was the next to speak. Rachel had been passing on the main parts of the conversation to the Kelbird, including their prisoner.  
  
"No'o leth ce'e kahe'i palh kilm U'uhn fe ce'e i'artesh kon'yt sehy pa'ani'h?" she whispered, but in a voice that made the others stop to listen, even though most of them did not understand a word. "Sehy yey. Sehy carf. Sehy myri'ith."  
  
"'How can you hide from the One that you are no longer part of his network?'" Rachel translated. "'He sees, he hears, he knows.'" she frowned thoughtfully. "LuRi'il does have a point, Melissa. Doesn't the One get suspicious when you suddenly aren't reachable by mind?"  
  
Melissa spat angrily at the ground beside her, and then stared straight at LuRi'il, eyes flashing. "She probably knows the answer to that one herself."  
  
"Still," Jake said, a tinge of menace in his voice. "It's a good question. Answer it."  
  
"I will," Melissa retorted and glared up at him. "The One only worries about the Chosen he can use for the moment. Us commoners aren't more important to him than those he kills. We are… expendable, and easily replaced. The ones who've freed themselves, including me, all act like we still need to obey him – the arrogant bastard – when he's near, and he's shown no signs of suspicion."  
  
"The question isn't what he shows, but what he thinks," Marco muttered.  
  
"Look, if he found out about this, he'd have all Chosen forbidden to morph and the ones who've freed themselves killed. If he'd suspected something, I wouldn't be here. At least not in one piece."  
  
That sounded logical enough. In fact, all of Melissa's explanations sounded logical. So, Marco concluded, she was either telling the truth – or she was very good at improvising.  
  
But lying or telling the truth, what she wanted in return was simple; a safe return back to Earth, away from everything Yeerk or Touched. All she wanted was to come with them when they left Dina'amm. And that was plain truth; her eyes shone with a blind eagerness – almost a desperation – that simply could not have been fake.  
  
It was a reasonable demand. None of them found any reason to deny her that.  
  
But the question remained – could Melissa be trusted? If they let her walk, she would do one two things; keep her end of the deal – or report them directly to the One.  
  
Jake was doubtful. "It's a huge risk," he murmured, shaking his head slowly. "I don't know…"  
  
Melissa shrugged. "So don't let me go. Fine. Wait until they start wondering where I am. Wait until they start suspecting my disappearance has something to do with those two dead technicians – and start searching the woods."  
  
"That sounds a lot like a threat," Santorelli said, dark in the face as he watched Melissa.  
  
Marco agreed, but kept quiet. Melissa was right, of course. They were already in a mess, having blown most of what cover they had, and ideas of remaining unnoticed were as good as gone.  
  
"If you let me go, I can go back, make up a story and they'll suspect nothing," Melissa told them. "Officially, I'm still a Touched. So they would believe me if I told them the Blade ship was white – they'd think it came from the One, and immediately accept it." She made a wry face. "And I'm high enough in rank to silence any complainers. In fact, another promotion and I'd be able to check out my own fighter and leave… but the One hasn't promoted anyone since we arrived here, and no-one has the guts to do it for him."  
  
"Well, Jake?" Jeanne said softly. "Decision time. Does she stay or go?"  
  
Jake looked intently at Melissa. "How can we be sure you won't betray us?"  
  
"I give you my word. Got nothing else to give, so…" she shrugged. "Best I can do. You're right when you said that I've changed, Jake… I'm aware of that. But Rachel's right as well. I won't break a deal."  
  
Jake looked around. At the Kelbrid, who stared back intently with their black, white-pupilled eyes, giving no help whatsoever. At Menderash, who folded his gaze down, indicating that he did not consider it his decision – although the tightness in his expression clearly showed his opinion on the matter. At Jeanne, who shook her head slowly. And Santorelli, who said; "I don't know this girl – this Melissa. I'm not going to decide." Finally, Jake turned to Rachel.  
  
Her opinion was clear. "I trust my friend, Jake. Do the same." It was – in classic Rachel style – more of an order than a suggestion.  
  
Jake rubbed his temples. "Marco?"  
  
Marco shrugged. "If we don't let her go they might come looking for us. If we let her go she might betray us so they come looking for us. Let me put it this way; I trust Yeerk suspicion more than I distrust Melissa."  
  
Jake raised his eyebrows in confusion at Marco's riddle-like answer. He wasn't the only one.  
  
"Marco? This is not supposed to be a guessing game," Jeanne said, annoyed. "Are you voting yes or no?"  
  
Marco waved a dismissing hand and turned away. "I'm saying let her go," he muttered. "They'll be snapping at our heels whether she tells them to or not."  
  
"So she walks," Rachel concluded, smiling at her friend. "And now you're back on our side, Mel. How does it feel?"  
  
Melissa simply laughed. "It has to be better than the Yeerk side."  
  
.  
  
Aralgo was bored. He stood keeping an eye on the computer, now and then changing the path of the transfer to avoid it being tracked – dull work.  
  
An energy code. He was not entirely sure he remembered everything about them from his schooling, but he recalled enough. It was the pattern used energy particles travelled in – the pattern in which they struck a surface, to be exact – and it could be simple or complex, long or short. The energy code showed on screen was simply that pattern put into letters and digits.  
  
There were a few major ones, that all Andalites reading any advanced technology had been told to memorize. The patterns for shredders and dracons were similar, and simple, and classics for quizzes. A few more difficult ones had appeared on tests and for assignments. For extra credit they could have learned any code for anything from solar energy to the energy used in escafil devices.  
  
Dull work. Except for those who longed to see the pattern; those obsessed with it. Like Aralgo's teacher. He had almost drilled his students to death – from boredom, that is.  
  
Aralgo shuddered as he remembered those long hours and turned his attention back to the loading of the silly code.  
  
But the next time he changed the path of the transfer, the program Olana had designed detected a tracking. Aralgo felt a chill rush down his tail, and immediately made a copy of the transfer – just in time to see the trackers cancelling the first one.  
  
He led the new transfer through path after path, making sure it was not tracked, and finally settled it where he thought it might be safe – at least safer. As long as it just loaded properly…  
  
It was not long until he heard sounds from outside the Phantom. He leapt to the doorway, cast a look outside, and saw two warriors moving towards him, stalks angrily darting back and forth.  
  
Of course. He had saved the download of that energy code Olana wanted so badly, but he'd still been tracked. The SwiftHoof's mechanics and pilots knew their database had been hacked, and they knew someone on the Phantom had done it. The warriors had been sent to deal with it.  
  
He swivelled a stalk towards the computer, and sent it a command in thought- speech. Display file. On screen.  
  
A hologram appeared, and on it came what had been loaded of the energy code, in digits and letters. As the code loaded, they changed, melted together or grew apart, all too quickly for the eye to follow; too quickly for it to be read properly.  
  
Aristh! a warrior's voice barked from outside. Come out at once!  
  
Aralgo stared at the hologram. The pattern was beginning to emerge; a pattern he recognized. The code was almost complete… just a few moments… just…  
  
Come out! roared the warrior. When Aralgo stayed where he was, the two came into the Phantom.  
  
The code was done. Aralgo read it through, once, twice; knowing he recognized it, knowing he knew what it was… but that spark of knowledge was just out of reach. He turned to the warriors with a mental sigh.  
  
Have you hacked the SwiftHoof's database? the first one snapped.  
  
No use lying. They knew, anyway. Yes, he admitted. I have. he kept a stalk and a part of his mind focused on the code, trying to remember what it was.  
  
What… is that what you have stolen? the second warrior said, waving a hand towards the screen, watching it with one stalk, the other circling. What is it, aristh?  
  
It is an energy code, Aralgo explained. He peered at the warrior. Do you know what that is? Otherwise I can –  
  
…but at that word he stopped speaking. It was as if his brain had a breakdown. Everything fell out of his mind – and into place.  
  
The code.  
  
He stared at it, all four eyes on the hologram, all four eyes wide, and for some reason holding his breath. His tail quivered behind him; his hands trembled.  
  
Do you… know… what that is? he asked weakly. Do you know what this ship is hiding?  
  
The warriors exchanged a glance. What are you talking about, aristh? the first one demanded, a stalk watching the hologram, both main eyes glaring at Aralgo.  
  
Aralgo was unaware of the dangerous glint in those main eyes – he couldn't take his own off the code. But he finally tore them away, to stare at the warriors.  
  
Of course. If the code… of course they would not agree. In fact, if… they would…  
  
You had better come with us, aristh, the second warrior said lowly. Both their tails were raised.  
  
The code was, unmistakably, the one for Kandrona energy.  
  
Go with them?  
  
Not a chance in seven universes! Aralgo cried, bursting into motion. But as soon as he did, the warriors did the same, advancing on him, moving like quicksilver. And however drenched his mind was in fear and however much the strength and speed of panic welled in his blood, a part of him still knew that an inexperienced aristh had no chance against two veteran warriors like those who stood before him.  
  
.  
  
"Jake?" Rachel said as she sat down with the others to eat. Melissa had left, almost an hour earlier. "There's still one matter to settle."  
  
Jake swallowed the chunk of Kelbird plant – at least, he thought it had been a plant – that he had been chewing and snatched some more ghy'yh before the last had been taken. "What?"  
  
"About the Rachel," Rachel said. "I still think we should steal it back. It would certainly be worth the trouble. I mean, the Hawk and the other Kelbrid fighters are good, but with the Rachel…" she stopped speaking, but her wide grin said enough.  
  
"Oh, bad idea, Fearless Leader," Marco said, shaking his head violently. "Do not – and I repeat; NOT – let Xena near any serious firepower. Especially when she doesn't see where she's aiming. There's bound to be accidents."  
  
"In your case, intended accidents," Rachel added.  
  
By now, they'll have moved it, Tobias pointed out.  
  
"We can find it again," Jeanne countered, looking up from feeding Tom, who was lazily stretched out next to Rachel.  
  
"It wouldn't be easy to take, even if we found it," Jake said. "We've been close to it once, when it wasn't properly guarded, but the second time around they'll be swarming around it. Of course it would be worth the effort, but even getting close would be taking a huge risk."  
  
"A little challenge never hurt anyone," his cousin replied, shrugging.  
  
"Weren't you the one who mentioned 'now or never'?" Jake wondered, for some reason snappish. "Because 'now' is gone, and that means 'never' is left."  
  
"Jake, do you want our ship back or not?" Jeanne asked.  
  
"Of course, it wouldn't hurt, but –"  
  
"Then stop arguing against yourself."  
  
"I'm not arguing against myself."  
  
"Yes, you are," Jeanne said. "You claim to feel the same way we do about stealing the Rachel back, but you refuse to agree when we suggest going through with it."  
  
Marco sighed. "If you're thinking it would blow our cover, it's a good thought but probably too late. Those two technicians… and all the guards we had to take care of… well, say what you like about the Yeerks, but they're not stupid enough to miss all that." He raised his eyebrows. "Though if they were, I wouldn't be complaining. You don't suppose –"  
  
"Don't even think about it," Rachel warned. "It would ruin so much fun."  
  
Marco grimaced. "Yeah, cause being chopped to a million pieces is exactly my idea of a great time."  
  
"And speaking of time," Santorelli said, "if we want to do anything more on this planet we had better do it now. Or we'll have Yeerks all over us."  
  
"Not to mention the Touched," Rachel added. "And Touched can be serious trouble. Believe me."  
  
They all sent a glance at LuRi'il, who was quietly nibbling a piece of food, watching them, her green pupils gleaming in the centre of her black eyes.  
  
"Then it's settled," Jake said. "First, we erase all traces we've been on this place and move camp."  
  
"But then Melissa won't be able to find us!" Rachel objected.  
  
"Just as well," Jake stated. "We'll find her if we need to. Secondly, we go back to our ship, and steal it, kicking some Yeerk – and Touched – butt while we're there. After that we send the Kelbrid home, and –"  
  
"And LuRi'il?" Santorelli said.  
  
"Don't interrupt me, Santorelli," Jake snapped.  
  
"No, sir," Santorelli agreed, hiding a smile.  
  
"Good point though," Jake continued, as if he had not even stopped speaking to begin with. "Rach?"  
  
"They can't bring her to Cava'ara and the colony," Rachel reasoned. "And we can't leave her here."  
  
"Then we have a problem," Jeanne sighed.  
  
We knew that from the start, Tobias pointed out.  
  
"We should have killed her to begin with," Menderash said in a low voice. "Save ourselves a lot of trouble."  
  
Marco and Jake turned their gazes towards the former Andalite, who only stared back proudly.  
  
"Hate to say it, but he's right," Marco muttered, looking away again. "If she's a threat alive, we've got no choice but to…" he made a face "…dispose of her."  
  
Rachel gave a short nod and uttered a number of words in Kelbrid – something that sounded grim. JaLa'an's face grew stony, his horns raised the slightest bit, but Sira'aki only nodded in understanding. KEdi'ir didn't even look up.  
  
LuRi'il straightened up where she was sitting and spoke. Again, Rachel nodded.  
  
What did she say? Tobias asked.  
  
"She said we will not need to blood our horns – it's an expression, but I think you get the picture. Give the word, Jake, and she'll take care of it herself. She wasn't expecting to live much longer anyway."  
  
Jake looked up and noticed that the Touched was watching him. He had a feeling he'd better not move – in case the Kelbrid interpreted that wrongly.  
  
Marco gave a laugh. "These Kelbird are insane!"  
  
Rachel grinned. "They are, aren't they?"  
  
Jake sighed uncomfortably and turned back to the group. "Look, LuRi'il is a problem for later. One thing at the time. First, we steal our ship back. We leave at nightfall, and that means we've got about five hours to clear this spot and cover some serious distance to find another one – which gives us about fifteen minutes of clearing and four hours forty-five of finding. Any questions?"  
  
There were none. Rachel pased the orders on to the four Kelbird, but still no questions. Jake nodded, pleased, as he got to his feet. "Then let's get moving."  
  
.  
  
Minalea seemed very fond of those bouncing leaps, Carali noted sourly as he followed her towards the aristh quarters. It was as if she couldn't decide if she wanted to go upwards or forwards.  
  
They got where they wanted, in any case. And, fortunately, the very obvious leaping and bouncing had stopped by then.  
  
As it turned out, Minalea actually could be discreet. She was the first to reach the aristh's corridor, and glanced past the turn with only a stalk – as they all had been strictly taught at the Academy, amazing that she'd managed to learn anything at all – before giving the signal for all-clear and stepping into the corridor, boldly but quietly.  
  
Well then, she said, in private thought-speech, looking around curiously. Where do we start?  
  
If I wanted to put cargo down here, I'd put it in the first possible room, Carali declared.  
  
But if you wanted to hide it down here you'd put it as far in as possible, Minalea countered. So come on.  
  
She trotted down the corridor on soundless hooves. Carali was slower, feeling the doors on his way past – and yes, they were all locked.  
  
The two stopped by the last door. Carali quickly found that that one was locked as well, and was just as quick to point it out. Minalea only grinned.  
  
For now, she corrected. Then began inspecting the lock. Two options. Do we want to leave it in one piece?  
  
Preferably, Carali muttered.  
  
Typical. Breaking them is so much fun. But… as you wish. she placed her small tail-blade in the barely visible crack between the lock-pad and the door, and using her hands to help she pried it free. Lucky for us this is the aristh's quarters – they only use glue. Bad quality glue, as well. Now if it had been the Captain's quarters… let's just say we'd have had a problem.  
  
Smiling smugly, she stretched a hand into the hole in the wall where the lock-pad had been. After a moment's concentration her face lit up, and she twisted her entire arm.  
  
The door opened. Minalea pulled her hand out again and gave Carali a triumphant I-told-you-so look, before pushing the lock-pad back into place. Then she entered the aristh's quarter… which was much larger than it should have been.  
  
Carali followed her inside, for some reason with his tail raised. The wall between that room and the next had been roughly torn down – burned away by shredders, from the looks of it – and thereby the room was twice as large as it normally had been. But not less crowded; there was barely enough room for an Andalite to walk around, and then only by the walls. Maybe you could squeeze in two in each corner, but it was doubtful.  
  
For in the centre of the room stood a cylindrical structure in dull metal. It was tall enough to barely reach up to Carali's back, had a control pad – primitive, with buttons, Carali noted – and was covered by what could only be described as a lid. The lid sat on large, heavy hinges.  
  
What is this? Minalea wondered, stretching out a curious hand towards it.  
  
Until we find out, don't touch it, Carali snapped, and Minalea yanked her hand away. Carali narrowed his eyes and peered at the strange object. Its details were hard to see; the room was in semi-darkness…  
  
Did you hear that? Minalea said in private thought-speech, suddenly alert.  
  
What?  
  
Hooves. Someone's coming.  
  
Might be the others… Carali began, looking up and inching his way back to the door.  
  
No; the others would be sneaking, Minalea said. Those are definitely not the steps of someone who's sneaking… and from the sound, they're adults. Heavy steps.  
  
Carali sharpened his ears, and – as Minalea had said – there were definitely Andalites approaching, coming along the corridor. How she'd made out that they were not sneaking – and were adults – was beyond him. But then again, someone who constantly broke rules probably had more experience listening for followers than someone orderly and serious – such as himself.  
  
His first thought was to close the door, but then he realized that the sound and movement would draw attention directly to them. No; too late to close the door. And of course they couldn't leave the room, either.  
  
Had to wait them out. Wait, and hope for the best.  
  
I think I know what this is, Minalea said suddenly. When Carali had turned all eyes away, she had been quick to begin exploring the structure in the centre of the room again.  
  
Minalea? Be quiet – you'll give us away.  
  
Minalea only laughed. I'm using private thought-speech, you idiot. Don't worry about them.  
  
Don't worry?! Are you aware that they are coming right at us?  
  
I know. Calm down.  
  
Carali glared at her. I am calm.  
  
Certainly – and I am a two-headed djabala. Minalea rolled her stalks. We'll worry about them later. For now, help me with this lid, it's heavy. She was, obviously, trying to lift it.  
  
Carali's eyes grew wide. I told you to leave that alone!  
  
And since when do I take orders from you? She sighed, somehow sounding like an adult trying to be patient when in fact all patience had run out. Carali, we came here to figure out what was down here. This is what's down here – we should find out what it is. Are you going to help me or not?  
  
Carali glared some more, but then took a place next to her and helped her struggle to open the lid. She was right; it was heavy.  
  
He straightened again. Why not use the buttons? One of them probably opens it.  
  
Yes, probably, but we don't know which one, do we? Or how much noise that would make, for that matter.  
  
That pretty much took the fun out of Carali's brilliant idea. But with their combined efforts the lid finally opened; slowly. They pushed it further up, until it was standing on its hinges – and until it suddenly fell over in the other direction.  
  
Fell, and hit the wall with a CLANG that was most likely loud enough to be heard on the bridge. Carali almost jumped out of his skin.  
  
Minalea only grinned. Oops, she commented.  
  
'Oops'?! Carali repeated. Oops?! That's the –  
  
Oh, shut it.  
  
Don't tell me what to do, or I'll – Carali did not finish his sentence. He had leapt to the doorway to look out, and the sight of the Andalites there made him quiet down.  
  
Three Andalites had been in the corridor, and were on their way towards him, tails raised, galloping. A door was opening and another Andalite just came out – looking a bit woozy, the same expression as the one just outside another quarter was wearing as he turned towards them.  
  
How many? Minalea wondered.  
  
Five, Carali reported, taking a deep breath to calm himself. He and Minalea might get in serious trouble for this, but at least these were Andalites. Not Kelbrid or large golden beasts with dagger-like claws. And they don't look happy. Can you see what's in that thing? He himself was standing so the lid – that was leaning against the wall – was in the way.  
  
Too dark, Minalea muttered.  
  
Easily fixed, Carali said. Then, to the ship; Lights on.  
  
The lights, obedient as always, flickered on. Minalea cast one look into the low cylinder and Carali could practically see the colour drench from her face.  
  
Her formerly confident voice dropped to a frightened whisper. It is… a Yeerk pool.  
  
.  
  
.  
  
.  
  
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _  
  
Author's Note;  
  
I know, I know, I didn't tell you what happened to Estrid. You'll find out soon enough. As soon as I get the next chapter up… which might not be so soon, after all… time will tell. Until then, review this one. (please?) 


	24. Why Kelbird kids can go to battle

Why Kelbrid kids can go to battle

Estrid had almost accepted her fate when help arrived. She was staring up at the towering shape of the One, seeing no escape, but maybe chance, fate or some twist by the being from children's stories called the Ellimist – whom the One had mentioned as if he was real – she got away.

The One was just a stalk's length away when a small tail-blade flashed through him – through, because in his two dimensions he was untouchable; not based on the same kind of matter as the blade.

In that way he shouldn't have been able to do, he swivelled from Estrid with a cry of fury and surprise. Fury and surprise that someone had been brave – foolish – enough to attack him.

Larynia, the owner of that blade, leaped nimbly out of his reach. She stopped by Estrid's side and not-so-gently shoved the stunned scientist to her hooves.

Get up, get up, get up, time to leave! she muttered, not taking her main eyes off the One.

Just when Estrid had stumbled back up, the TO, Kindelil, attacked. His furious swipe was aimed at Larynia's head, and it took all her strength to block it and she moved away, only to dart forwards and with three quick snaps slash both his eyes bloody and cleanly cut off his stalks. The TO staggered back with a yell of pain, but then attacked blindly again.

His strike almost cost Larynia her throat. She tried to block it, but the momentum and strength easily overpowered her tail. She sprung aside at the last moment, and Estrid sent the flat of her own blade to the blinded TO's head.

The TO slumped together, but a far more dangerous enemy was still aware.

The One – by then twice the height of any normal Andalite – had somehow changed so that he appeared in three dimensions. His blade – roughly the length of Estrid's tail, a fact that that was mildly discouraging – came sweeping down towards both females, as if to cut them both in half. But they jumped out of its way, and backed away even further when the One came forwards.

Fleeing will do you no good, cowards! he roared. Stand and face me!

Cowards we're not and we don't take orders from you! Larynia yelled back, rearing up in defiance.

The One's eyes gleamed dangerously green, and he struck again, this time at only Larynia. She threw herself backwards, fell and rolled, and as soon as she was back on her hooves the One's tail flashed again, wildly, aimed to cut cleanly through both their throats. Estrid avoided it with ease, but Larynia received a deep gash across her cheek.

She was not pleased.

Okay, that's it, _now_ I'm angry, she announced. Aximili! If you're still in there, you _better_ be fighting this thing!

With that she launched forwards, tail swept up into attack and eyes alight with anger.

The One struck. Larynia danced away, let her tail sweep forwards and –

Hit nothing but air. The One was back in his two dimensions, out of her reach. He was still glowing a mad green, almost making it hard to look at him, and his gleeful laugh was just as mad.

Larynia's tail swept forwards in a perfect arch, but continued harmlessly into the One – but well there he twisted, caught the tail in one hand and held it in place with impossible strength.

At first Larynia only stared in confusion. Then a spark of green shot between her tail and the One, and she howled in sudden pain.

Scientist, laughed the One, blinking at Estrid as another spark travelled between him and Larynia's trapped tail, If there is anything important you wish to tell your friend, I suggest you do it now. She is about to take the place I had reserved for you, and there you will be unable to reach her. As you are unable to reach Aximili.

Another spark. Larynia yanked desperately at her tail, but was effectively trapped. She seemed to be pulled closer and closer into the One, somehow growing flat, to fit his own form. And for every spark her resistance grew weaker.

Estrid had already learned that the One was practically untouchable in his two-dimensional form. She had nothing – no weapon – that could do as much as annoy him. But there was another way to go about things.

She pranced forwards and struck. Once – twice – with all the force she could muster.

Larynia almost fell away with a thought-speech cry. The One still held her blade and the last two decimetres of her tail, but now dropped them in disgust. Larynia stared with both stalks at the part that remained intact, still attached to her spine. Then turned her horrified gaze to the part that was lying, still twitching, on the ground. She tried to say something, but Estrid was faster.

No time to debate it, she snapped, grabbing the _aristh_'s arm and pulling her along as she turned from the One. Time to go. You can morph it back later. Now move!

Larynia's shrill comment was drowned in an angry roar from the One. Estrid's swivelling stalks detected Andalites coming at a gallop, from all around them, and it would only be a matter of time before they were completely surrounded.

Why had these Andalites switched sides? What hold did this One have on them?

How – _how_ _how_ _how_ – was the creature in control of Aximili?

…and how could she save him? Or was it voluntary – was Aximili… no, no not –

Andalites still coming, and for whatever reason they'd switched, they were not on her side.

She followed her own advice; this was not the time to debate it. Any of it. She made sure Larynia was following and began running, as fast as her legs would carry her, towards the exit. They tumbled out through the gravity-shift with a good distance between themselves and their pursuers, and Estrid led them down a side corridor, and continued in meaningless directions, choosing paths randomly, hoping to lose the followers completely.

Estrid, wait, I need to morph, Larynia said suddenly, coming to a skidding halt, and when Estrid turned she noticed how pale the _aristh_ had turned.

She glanced beyond her friend, wondering how far away those Andalites the One had sent after them were. How quickly can you morph? A few seconds and they'll have caught up with us.

A few seconds and my tail will be pure agony, Larynia countered, trying to keep a straight face but not totally succeeding. Then a flash of anger passed her eyes. And when they get here, I want my blade so I can fight them! They might win, but I'm not letting us go down easily.

Estrid arched her own tail up. Neither will I, she said, suppressing a sudden stab of fear.

I didn't say you would. But running randomly won't do us any good; I'm leaving a blood trail.

Estrid took one look at the floor, another one at the badly bleeding stump of Larynia's tail, realised that the _aristh_ was right. Then morph. Quickly!

After having moved campJake and his mismatched group wasted no time before setting out towards the Yeerk camp and – hopefully – the _Rachel_.

LuRi'il remained at camp, guarded by Sira'aki and JaLa'an. KEdi'ir, on the other hand, wanted to come with the group. That had caused some discussion – Jake had no urge whatsoever to come back and have to explain to Sira'aki that the child had been killed. Rachel, though, argued that "the kid can come if he wants to" – and not long after, Jake lost the discussion.

It could have had something to do with Tom "misinterpreting" Jake's worried, irritated comments for anger – for threats – and knocking the Animorph leader off his feet and about four meters back. (When she had stopped scratching his ears, Rachel was very angry with her kii-raja.)

"Don't yell at me when Tom's near," she warned her cousin as she helped him back up. "He tends to overreact."

Jake soon found that despite Rachel now agreeing sweetly when he again stated that KEdi'ir was _still_ not coming with them, it ended with the young Kelbrid doing so anyway. He had a feeling Rachel, KEdi'ir, and maybe even Sira'aki, had made their minds up before even letting Jake know about it.

They realised they were closing in on the Yeerk camp when they ran across a human-Controller with a dracon. Tom took him down before he thought about yelling, but the group gathered to discuss any further tactics. It was decided that Tom and Jake would go ahead as scouts, Tobias with his stalks – he was, again, in Andalite morph – would bring up the rear, and the rest would more or less stay between, all eyes and ears alert.

Okay, that's simple enough, Marco said. So what's the plan for when we arrive?

"That's obvious," Rachel replied, rolling her eyes. "We go in, we grab our cruiser, and before we leave we thank the Yeerks by seriously damaging the Blade ship."

They won't like that, Jeanne commented. Her panther eyes glittered. Not that I'm complaining.

Jake sighed inwardly. Tempting as it is, we probably can't sneak close enough to do that. There'll be too many guards – and bug fighters, too, probably. Once we've stolen the ship, it'll be better to quickly get scarce.

"Who said anything about sneaking?" Rachel wondered.

That was debated for some time, until they agreed that since they were leaving anyway after this mission they didn't really have to worry about secrecy any longer. Cover already blown, anyway, as Marco so delicately put it. So this time – to Rachel's delight – they did not bother to sneak. The plan was to be made up as they went along – and as more than one guard fell to either Tom's or Jake's teeth.

They reached the clearing where they last had seen the _Rachel_. That time, approaching bug fighters had driven them to take cover under the nearby trees, and having had no time to steal their ship before further Yeerks arrived to investigate the two dead technicians, they had settled for kidnapping Melissa. This time, the clearing was deserted.

Which hopefully proves that she can fly again, Marco said, as they continued further into Yeerk territory. If she's no longer here.

She's a Yeerk craft, and Yeerks have patched her up, Jeanne reminded him. Of course she can fly again.

Good, because if we pack into our cruiser and she can't fly, our surprised faces will be the only defence we've got against the combined efforts of the Kelbrid and Yeerk armies. And for some reason I think that'd do us little good.

"Shut up, Marco," Rachel muttered. While her kii-raja was scouting, she had a hand on Tobias's shoulder to guide her, but the lack of sight seemed to make her grumpy. Despite the fact that Tom returned – every second minute or so – to check on her, give her an "update", and the further they got the closer he stayed to the group and to Rachel.

One of those times, he had been on his way back to scouting when suddenly he hesitated, head being raised. He stared intently in amongst the trees, nose twitching, tail flicking from side to side behind him like an annoyed cat's.

"Kelbrid," Rachel warned lowly, moving her hand from Tobias's shoulder and down to Tom's neck. "Many of them. And a few Hork-Bajir."

How many? Santorelli asked.

"Don't know. Tom isn't a calculator. But he knows they're sneaking up around us… setting a trap."

Can we outrun them? Jeanne wondered.

Rachel gave a laugh. "Well, we can try. But it wouldn't be worth much."

Pull together, form a circle, Jake ordered, and the group complied at once. It's no use hiding when they know we're here. Rach? Any tips?

"A few," Rachel said in a low but clear voice. "They're tree-dwellers, like Hork-Bajir, so they'll attack from the trees. When they're on the ground, their horns are fast but arms and legs slower; get in close and they won't even be able to use their horns properly, and then it's an easy win. If that doesn't work, get them off their feet. Can't use their horns well from the ground either. And most importantly, DO NOT mess with their kids. That's the –"

She got no further before Tom broke out of the circle with a snarl and dove in amongst the trees. Four Kelbrid Touched dropped down from the branches to stop him as he attacked the fifth, who had been unfortunate enough to spend a second too long on the ground. He shook them all off, moving too fast for the eye to follow as he evaded every horn that whipped at him. More Hork-Bajir and more Kelbrid leapt down on the circle.

They all had to turn inwards and attack. But as soon as they did, a duo of Kelbrid – of which one was a child, like KEdi'ir – and a few Hork-Bajir appeared outside the circle, attacking from what then was 'behind'. But there was neither time nor room to turn to meet them; so about then, chaos erupted as everyone tried to attack in all directions at once.

Santorelli with his rhino morph turned out to be the best adapted for fighting the Kelbrid Touched. His skin was too thick for their wrist blades and claws to leave any deeper slashes, and he was strong enough to more or less ignore the horns that wrapped around his head and thick legs. He would simply turn, rush forwards and ram straight into the Kelbrid – or Hork-Bajir – and carry them with him as he continued into the next one. 

Jake and Jeanne, both large cats, were fast, but not nearly fast enough to avoid the horns. They were troubled by the bone-hard horns that wrapped around their legs and tails, and slowed them, at times even stopped them, yanking them off their feet, tripping them in the middle of a leap. Gnawing would not get rid of the coils, and pulling didn't seem to do much good since the Kelbrid knew how to move and still keep the horns in place.

Menderash and Rachel were, obviously, the most vulnerable. Although Rachel didn't seem to realise that. She had – as soon as Tom had helped her find a target – charged into the nearest Kelbrid, too close for the horns to be of much use, and grabbed the alien's arm, using his own wrist blade against him. Her blindness didn't stop her, and if it at some time put her at disadvantage – or a horn attacked before she came closer – Tom was at once there to even out the score… which always seemed to end with one less Kelbrid.

Menderash did his best to copy Rachel's wrist blade-stealing manoeuvre, but had also armed himself with a large branch – that somehow made him look silly.

Marco had been faced by a Kelbrid and a Hork-Bajir-Controller. The Hork-Bajir, probably unused to fighting next to Kelbrid, had at once set forwards, thereby coming in the Kelbrid's way so the horns couldn't reach Marco. And battling Hork-Bajir was something Marco knew to do. After a few minutes he had simply lifted the Controller and thrown him at the Kelbrid, who disappeared back up into a tree, but not fast enough to avoid the blades of the Hork-Bajir.

Ha ha! Marco exclaimed. I knew this had to be easy!

The reply was that the Kelbrid youngster dropped down on his gorilla shoulders from above, horns flying down and wrapping tightly around Marco's wrists.

To his great amusement, Marco noted that the Kelbrid's horns weren't strong enough to do much more than annoy him. He still managed to swing his arm forwards and slam a sledgehammer-like fist in the face of the Hork-Bajir, who by then had gotten back up. Then he raised his arms to deal with the Kelbrid.

The youngster quickly let go of his wrists and raised his own arms, wrist blades aimed straight at Marco's eyes.

Hey! Marco erupted, catching the Kelbrid's arms just in time and tossing him down to the ground. He raised a gorilla arm, fist clenched – the youngster's eyes grew wide. The youngster's white-pupilled eyes – he was not a Touched.

"Ki'ifa!" he cried, staring up at Marco.

Rachel, who'd been more or less wrestling a female Kelbrid not very far from there, raised her head to listen when she heard that. The Kelbrid did the same, and with sudden strength fought off Rachel and rushed towards Marco. She leapt up on the gorilla's back, the giant claws on her feet digging deep into his shoulders, both horns wrapping tightly around the arm he still held raised, trying with all her weight and momentum to yank it back. 

The youngster got away, disappearing up into a tree. Tom had appeared next to Rachel, and he kept her back clear as she stampeded towards Marco.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" she demanded.

Marco tore the enraged Kelbrid female off his back and Tom chased her away, still staying close to Rachel as she aimed a meaningless kick at Marco's side and then grimaced as she hurt her toes.

What? Marco wondered, slightly annoyed. That kid? The one who tried to split my eyes and brain into manageable pieces?

"Exactly!" Rachel roared. "I told you NOT TO MESS WITH THE KIDS!"

At that point another Hork-Bajir had advanced on Marco and he was distracted as a blade cut deep into his arm. A Kelbrid dove down from the trees behind the Hork-Bajir, horns flying for Rachel's throat. She didn't even move, arms crossed impatiently over her chest, but Tom leapt towards the Touched and his formidable teeth sank deep into the Touched's skull, keeping the horns from ever reaching their destination.

After Marco had finished off the Hork-Bajir – with some help from Santorelli – there was no-one left to battle. KEdi'ir was still fighting one of the adult Kelbrid Touched, their horns whipping and wrist blades flashing in what almost seemed like a complicated dance, but aside from that there was no enemy left in sight.

Jeanne started towards the two to help KEdi'ir, but before she had reached them the adult had whirled his horns around KEdi'ir's legs and yanked him off his feet. The Touched took a step closer, bent down and slashed a wrist blade across the youngster's forehead… before helping him back up.

Jeanne stopped in shock.

"See that?" Rachel growled, glaring in Marco's general direction with her blindly staring eyes.

Marco was just as surprised as Jeanne.

The Kelbrid turned towards the rest of them, noted that he was the only one left. That did not seem to bother him the least, as if he was merely someone noticing that his friends had left the party earlier than himself. He set eyes on Jeanne and started forwards.

"Leave us," Rachel ordered in Kelbrid.

He looked up, surprised, turning towards her and Tom, who curled his upper lip in warning.

"We will not dishonour you, if you honour us by letting us live."

He thought that over, grinning at the hidden compliment. A hand slapped the other shoulder in a Kelbrid bow. "I have no orders to stay," he said, and then turned and disappeared up into the nearest tree.

Why did you just let him get away? Jake snapped, coming up next to Rachel. He'll alert the others and we'll have them all over us!

"A few others already left, or didn't you notice?" Rachel said. "Besides, he _bowed_ – he won't tell on us, on his honour – which is as serious as it'll get. Unless the One directly orders it, but that's unlikely."

You're betting our lives on _UNLIKELY_?! Jake shrilled.

Now that's the Rachel we all know and love, Marco grinned. For a minute you had us worried, letting live enemies escape.

Jake wasn't convinced. His tiger face was twisted into a snarl.

"Oh, calm down, demorph and remorph," Rachel said, waving a dismissing hand at her cousin.

As Jake (although he was still glowering) agreed, the group did so, starting with Marco, Jake, and Santorelli while Tobias and Jeanne kept watch. Menderash was inspecting a cut on his leg, but quickly decided he could live with it and left it alone.

Rachel's manner had suddenly changed, as if reminded of something, and she swivelled towards Marco, stabbing an accusing finger at him. "_You._ You better start listening to me, or there'll be trouble. I told you not –"

"– to mess with the kids, I know," Marco muttered, his human self coming out of the gorilla's much broader frame. "But what was I supposed to do? Let him dig those blades into my head?"

"If that's what it takes, yes."

"That kid was trying to kill me!"

And from the tone of Marco's voice, he was succeeding, Jeanne snickered.

"Shut up, Jeanne," Jake said, already beginning to remorph to tiger. Jeanne bared her teeth at him.

Rachel shook her head with a sigh, making a gesture with her hand. Tom came up to her and sat down by her side, fixing his intense golden eyes on Marco.

"I'll tell you a story," Rachel said, fingers softly caressing the kii-raja's head. "About the Kelbrid. They used to live in feuding clans on their home world, until the Jijfku arrived and started blowing them to pieces. The clans piled their knowledge, joined forces for the first time in history and built the arrowhead fighters to let them flee their planet. Their first order of business was to wipe out the Jijfku – which they did."

What's this got to do with kids? Santorelli asked, finishing his remorph to rhino, as Jeanne and Tobias began demorphing.

"I'm coming to that. The clans split up again and settled on different planets, continuing their eternal civil war. Until one clan got the lousy idea of killing kids as well as adults in battle. The others did not appreciate that. For the second and last time in their history, the clans joined forces and got rid of that clan. Thoroughly."

So point of story – don't harm the kids? Tobias wondered.

Rachel nodded. "Exactly. Unless you have a strange desire to have the entire Kelbrid species screaming for your blood you do not kill the kids. Even the Touched know that. And they'll follow it for as long as they can. The One doesn't seem to mind – he probably thinks it isn't worth causing an open rebellion just because he wanted a child cut apart."

I wasn't planning on actually _killing the kid, Marco muttered. I wouldn't do something like that. Just… knock him out._

"He didn't know that," Rachel pointed out. "He said '_ki'ifa__', which is a word for the laws concerning kids in combat – no being killed, and then the law of three chances; a child can be defeated and get back up three times before having to leave the battle. If he cried out '__ki'ifa__' he must have thought you were going to kill him. Something his mother didn't appreciate – as you probably noticed."_

Marco glanced at KEdi'ir, who was listening to the debate with one ear, but understanding nothing. Jeanne had knelt next to the young Kelbrid, examining the shallow wound on his forehead.

"It does explain why Kelbrid let their children fight to begin with," she said. "But I know I'd never send one of _my_ children – if I had any – to battle, law of three chances or not."

Jake pawed the ground with his tiger front paw. I wouldn't have minded that law in our war against the Yeerks.

Yeah, Marco agreed. We can harm them three times over, and they're not allowed payback?

"How boring," Rachel commented.

You kidding? Would've been a dream.

Tobias, again Andalite, gave a short nod. Another dream is retaking the _Rachel_.

He's right, Jake said, sighing. Let's go.

Tom loped away again to act scout, and Tobias – again in the back of the group – gently took Rachel's hand and placed it on his shoulder, so he could guide her. An impulse made him also put his arm around her.

There was suddenly blood on his fingers. He noticed she'd been cut across her collarbone – not deeply, luckily. But it still shocked him. Rachel – you're… bleeding.

"I've lived through worse." Rachel shrugged, demonstratively unconcerned. "I've been here a long time now, Tobias. Do you really think it's the first time I've gone to battle? Just… leave it alone, it'll heal. I've got a few herbs in my pack back at camp that'll ease the pain and help kill any infections."

He gave her a worried look with his stalks. She didn't see the motion, but knew him well enough to know it was there, and said; "I'm fine, Tobias. Really."

You'd say the same thing lying on the ground with blood pouring out of your mouth, he muttered. Then he sighed, realising she would ignore the wound if she decided to, and there was nothing he could do about it. It's just that… I worry. Of course I worry, I… I love you, Rachel.

Rachel was first visibly surprised at his choice of time and location to say those words. Then she pulled closer to him, her face splitting into a content, soft smile, the pain of the wound forgotten. Her arms went around his waist in a hug. "I know, Tobias," she said, so low only he could hear her. "And I love you too."

A _what_? Carali demanded, and then twisted to look around the lid and down into the cylinder for himself. He felt his own face grow pale enough to match Minalea's.

It's definitely not what I thought it was, she said weakly, looking like she might be ill.

A bitter stench had by then found its way up into Carali's nostrils, confirming what his eyes told him.

A Yeerk pool, filled with sludge and Yeerks, crawling and swimming around, just below and on the surface. A sickening sight for anyone but a voluntary Controller… and to find one _on a Dome ship_…

Carali? What do we do?

Carali stared at the pool, not registering the question, mind tumbling.

Carali!

He snapped back to reality, to see Minalea watching him apprehensively, and to hear galloping hooves quickly approach the door.

We need to… inform the others, he decided. At once.

I've figured that part out myself, Minalea said, shifting her weight quickly from one hoof to the next as if she couldn't decide on which to stand. Which means we need to get out of here. How?

I don't know, Carali admitted. Any ideas?

Minalea scanned the room, and suddenly brightened. The door!

The door is not an option. They'll see us and there's nowhere –

No, the other door! This is two quarters made into one, remember? Therefore, two doors. They'll come through the open one, letting us escape through the other.

But it's locked!

Not for long, Minalea grinned, already at the door and inspecting the lock pad. Keep them busy at the other door while I open this one.

What – _me_? But there's five of –

Despite his protests, Carali was already at the other door, passing the pool with as much distance between as possible. Yes, there were five (experienced, angry, skilled, adult, and so on) warriors coming, just reaching the door, but at the doorway only one could attack at the time. A small advantage.

But still, an _aristh_ against a warrior… not a pleasant scenario. A thought Carali repeated when the first strike came, which he clumsily blocked, tail straining.

Minalea! Hurry with that door!

A tail swept at his front legs and he had to back away to avoid it. The first warrior, following forwards, was by then straight in the doorway, passage back blocked by his companions, no route to either side and Carali in front. That didn't stop him from furiously attacking the _aristh_, who more and more desperately blocked or evaded most of the strikes, himself trapped between the wall and the pool, the warrior in front and Minalea behind.

The mistake came when the warrior feinted a strike. Carali, with his highly limited experience, fell for it and raised his tail to parry, leaving his head unguarded – something he realised only when the flat of the warrior's blade slammed into his temple.

It was a glance hit – badly aimed, the warrior probably hadn't expected him to fall for the feint – and didn't knock him out, but he lost his balance and fell against the pool, tail flying out behind him in an attempt to regain balance.

The warrior took the opportunity at once, seizing Carali by the neck and shoving his head down towards the pool.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Author's Note;

No note this time. *dies of shock*

Okay, okay, so a short one. Note the last-moment addition of R-T. I told you in a previous note that there would be Rachel-Tobias interaction, and there will be. There will be (I hope) some anguish, some anger, some broken hearts, a fairly idiotic Jake, and a very upset kii-raja. You'll probably know it when you read it. Otherwise, I'm a complete failure at writing, and should never be allowed near a keyboard again.

That's all for now.


	25. When a Touched dies

When a Touched dies

Fear had been building up rapidly and steadily since Carali and Minalea had first realised that the _SwiftHoof_ actually carried Yeerks – and Controllers. It had not been eased by the five Controller-warriors who stormed into the room where they'd found the pool and definitely not when one of those warriors grabbed Carali's neck and pushed it down towards the pool's stinking, sludgy surface.

So about then was when Carali panicked. His tail arched forwards, but his blade was easily swiped aside by the warrior's own blade. He struggled to get away, rearing up on his hind legs with the only effect that he landed again on his knees, head even closer to the surface of the pool. Which didn't calm him down, either.

But all Andalite arms are weak, and although the warrior shoved with all his might his only advantage had been the element of surprise. Once that had passed there was a deadlock; Carali unable to get up, but the warrior not being strong enough to force him any further down.

Minalea had by then opened the door that was their planned escape route and just looked up to tell Carali to follow… and noticed what was happening.

Lights off! she cried, and as the lights obeyed she took a wild leap up on Carali's back, balancing precariously there and on the edge of the pool. From there, she issued what must have been no less than the clumsiest strike in the history of the Andalite fleet.

Two hundred generations of proud Andalite tail-fight instructors would have turned in their graves if they'd seen it.

Luck was on her side, though. The sudden darkness had caught the warrior unprepared and he was a bit lost for just a moment, during which Minalea's blade could hit his head with enough force to stun him, allowing Carali to break free.

Carali threw himself back and up, unbalancing Minalea. The warrior struck blindly – a swipe that hit Minalea's knees, and cost her the last of her balance. She stumbled off Carali's back and down towards the pool.

Carali got a grip on her arm and yanked her along as he backed away, making her land on the floor instead of in the pool.

Careful, he advised.

Close one, huh? she laughed, but was more than a bit pale as she got up and sped out of the room.

Carali prepared to follow, but cast a last glance at the warriors. Four of them had squeezed into the room, two on each side of the pool, and the last – noticing that Minalea had left the room – was halfway out the door again. The other four seemed to be having difficulty deciding whether they should go forwards or back.

Carali turned away from them and threw himself out the door.

Lock it! Minalea cried when she saw him, and he watched her slam her entire weight into the fifth warrior to push him back into the room.

Carali put his hand on the lockpad and gave the order. Although difficult to open, the door closed without hesitation and they heard the lock snap in place.

Minalea did the same with her door and they exchanged a glance of pure relief.

Well well well, she said, suddenly grinning again, taking a prancing step to the side. Aren't you glad I came with you?

Carali carefully chose not to comment that. I don't think it's a good idea to remain here, he said instead. He carefully collected his thoughts. We should –

Get back to the others, I know. Then what?

Get off this ship, I suppose. Too dangerous to stay – the entire crew is probably infested. A crew of… his voice turned to a near-snarl; …Andalite-Controllers. 

Carali suddenly had a strong desire to correct that mistake. He sternly reminded himself that playing hero usually got people killed, remembering what trainer Sarjil from the _Daybreak_ usually said. That is, said to _arisths_; warriors and Princes could play hero all they liked. But Carali followed orders – and instructions. We should leave and hand the problem to someone who can deal with it.

And they'd do a better job than we would? Minalea wondered, grim in the face, speaking slowly, as if she was forcing every word out a second after it wanted to come. It might be too late by then – and there is one thing we can do. she turned towards him, eyes shining, voice slowly rising as she continued; The Kandrona. If we find the Kandrona, and destroy it –

Carali stared at her. Such conviction – such sincerity – from Minalea? What, had she been infested or something while he hadn't been looking?

No, wait; in that case she wouldn't display any sudden changes in personality – and wouldn't be out to destroy Kandronas.

And how are we supposed to do that? he asked, in pure surprise. We don't know where it is, and even if we found it it'd be guarded and –

That's what I've got you for, she laughed, dancing past him and reaching up to let her fingers brush past his cheek, almost as if by accident.

Carali blinked in surprise, losing track of what he was about to say. I'm not… I mean, I… Curse her for being so distracting – he glared at her and started over. Who said I'm even coming?

What? she said in a mocking voice, swivelling towards him. You? _Afraid_?

I'll do what I have to, Carali growled, angered now and not for anything wanting to be thought a coward. But with no warriors or Princes around I prefer to take my orders from common sense, not from _you_. Especially since common sense keeps telling me to dismiss anything you say as insanity!

She suddenly looked a bit hurt. Thank you so much, Carali, she whispered. So go back to the Phantom and cower, if it's what common sense tells you to do. I'm going to find that Kandrona. She turned to run off down the corridor.

He saw the madness of that and leapt up in front of her. No, you're not.

Minalea stopped and glared at him. Carali, I'm not going to accept you telling me what to do. Let's make that perfectly clear. Worst scenario, I'll be forced to call in backup and have Larynia chop you into a neat pile of spare limbs, but before it comes to that… she lowered her gaze with a shudder, and when she raised it fear was in her eyes. Well, as you said yourself, I'll do what I have to, but I'm not exactly thrilled about doing this – alone.

What? he taunted, echoing her own words, pleased at a chance to do so. You? _Afraid_?

Adults and Princes and Captains and the likes of them don't scare me, she stated, flicking her tail. Getting yelled at I'm used to – I can handle it. But Controllers… and… being infested…

And yet you plan to go directly to the depth of their nest and wreck the Kandrona? he said. They'll be more than a little angry, you know. Infesting you would probably be the kindest thing they'd do.

I figure that if the Kandrona goes, the Yeerks go. she flicked her tail again; a stalk glanced at him. Are you coming or not?

Carali felt something stir in his mind at the pleading tone that was hidden under the casual words. The picture he'd built up of Minalea was someone who was – basically – too carefree to be afraid, always wearing that eternal grin and busy snickering over her latest mischief. So different from now; the grin was gone and the look of seriousness in her eyes could have caused him to mistake her for someone else. And, he suddenly noticed, she was very pretty when she wasn't folded double with giggles.

Can't say I am. But can't say I'd let anyone go alone, either. You claim you can handle angering adults and Princes – but not Controllers. Then how are you going to go about this?

I see it as a sabotage mission, Minalea explained, forcing a pale grin. Sabotage I can do.

Carali thought that over. At that last point, she was probably correct. And she was correct stating that if the Kandrona was destroyed, the Yeerks would follow. And, again, correct in realising that she wouldn't be able to handle that mission on her own – she was probably the least skilled tail-fighter he'd ever seen, to put it mildly. And this would probably require some tail-fighting.

I'll go with you, he agreed finally. She let out a relieved sigh, but he continued; A few conditions. Firstly, we have Olana locate the thing instead of searching blindly for it. Secondly, we bring the others. Thirdly – and most importantly – you'll have to promise to quit putting up trip wires everywhere.

At the last one, Minalea's expression turned pained. Oh, no, she said, seemingly forgetting herself and dropping into open thought-speech. Oh, no, it's not worth that much. Then I'd rather go alone. But to have Olana locate the Kandrona –

Suddenly, a third thought-speech voice spoke. It would be unwise to start searching Kandronas. It is, by now, built into the ship and you would be unable to reach it unless you plan to take the entire ship apart, piece by piece. Do not fool yourself into believing the Yeerks would not adapt a captured ship to fit their purposes. They always have, and always will.

Carali's stalks swept around, tail flying up, but he saw nothing and no-one. Where – who?

Ailur-Derun-Kalifar, War Prince, fighter pilot and stationed on the _SwiftHoof_, said the voice, remarkably calm, but more bitter than _hariil_ roots. I am in one of the _aristh_ quarters, my tail and hands secured to the walls and my head shackled down to the edge of the pool network installed in these rooms. Highly uncomfortably, if I may say so myself. And you?

Carali prepared a reply, but Minalea was faster. We are _arisths_. That is all you need to know.

The other _aristh_ gave her a look, eyebrows raised in respect. Again she surprised him – it was good that she remembered to leave out their names… although, he realised, highly disrespectful. She could _at_ _least_ have used the War-Prince's title!

But Ailur did not seem to mind. _Arisths_, if that is what you prefer. I truly wish you do not suffer the same fate as I have, and order you to use any means to avoid it. This ship is doomed, and so are any who are on it. I advice you to leave.

How do we know you are not lying? Minalea wondered suspiciously. You could be infested, and trick us, and we would never known until it was too late.

Correct. You cannot be sure, and therefore I will give no direct orders. But if you do escape, I beg you to warn the fleet. I am the highest commanding officer on this ship – not counting the tactical and first officers, who are both infested at this time – and you can notify any friendly ship you meet that they are at their full right to blast this ship into oblivion at sight, including every crewmember on it.

What about the Captain? Carali wondered softly.

The Captain is not a morphable and no use as a host, due to… disabilities. Ailur's tone of voice indicated that generally, he would have thought that a serious drawback, but in this case had decided to overlook it. He is in a room in the other end of this ship, heavily guarded, but considering the Yeerks' habits of feeding him – or more properly _not_ feeding him – I fear for his life. I am confident that he would agree to my orders.

Which room are you in, War Prince? Carali asked, looking around.

Do not waste time searching… Ailur pleaded. I feel my Yeerk already returning. Flee while you can.

Which room? Minalea demanded, seeming determined to do something to help the Andalites on the _SwiftHoof_, be it freeing a War Prince or destroying the Kandrona.

I told you… not to waste… time. For me, it is too late. The War Prince's voice was strained, as though he spoke with great difficulty, but he managed to raise it as he roared; Now GO!

Both _arisths_ jolted into motion and where running, side by side, before they knew what was happening.

While the humans were gone, Sira'aki spent her time going through their supplies, chatting with JaLa'an, keeping an eye on LuRi'il, or simply keeping an eye out for dangers.

She was not worried about KEdi'ir. Firstly, she knew he might be hurt, but not killed – except if by accident. And accidents could happen whether she was near or not. Secondly, she trusted the human _cer y'yhan_, Rachel, to look after the child.

But she was worried about their packs. It had started to rain heavily, and if their food was drenched it would be destroyed. They could always steal more, in the worst case, but Sira'aki knew how hard it was to grow crops and avoided stealing from someone else if at all possible.

She and JaLa'an debated in low whispers how long the rain would be likely to last, and what could be done about it.

"It will last one day, maybe more," LuRi'il, having overheard them, said lowly.

Sira'aki turned to the prisoner. As usual the Touched had cast her eyes down, refusing to meet her gaze, as if she was ashamed of her eyes. She should be – they glowed the same intense green as that of all who were foolish enough to accept the One's Touch. She, Sira'aki, had rebelled. She'd paid dearly for it, losing her parents and siblings and friends and the entire village where she grew up in one, giant blow, but it had all been worth it.

She had a new family now. New friends. A new village.

A flash of green as the Touched glanced up briefly. She was much more reserved when _cer _Rachel was not near – perhaps she had noticed that the _cer y'yhan_ was not so strict concerning the captive's manners. With only Kelbird around, she fell back to the natural way of things.

"It is the later part of the warm season here on Dina'amm," she informed them. "The rain will last at least a few hours. I suggest you find shelter – for yourselves and the packs."

"And you?" JaLa'an wondered, ears turned to the prisoner. "You do not need shelter?"

"A prisoner needs but what the captors offer," LuRi'il replied simply.

"If that is your opinion you shall be sheltered," JaLa'an said, and his ears leaned outwards in a smile.

"You have my gratitude. Concerning the packs, may I suggest you tie them in hollows?"

JaLa'an and Sira'aki exchanged a glance. Finally, Sira'aki said; "Show us."

LuRi'il agreed with a twitch of her ears, already rising, gently lifting up a pack and right after that she leapt up into a tree. Sira'aki whipped her horns around a branch and swung herself after the prisoner. She would not risk the Touched escaping. She heard JaLa'an doing the same, landing with his large claws and one wrist blade anchored deeply in the bark of the stem, from where he had a good view of the Touched.

LuRi'il took a long, thin branch in one hand, put her wrist blade just under the surface of the bark and cut a long slice, that curled neatly around her wrist as it came free. The prisoner, her horns rendered useless by the thin chains that still held them, for a moment pondered how to hold the pack but finally placed it on the branch next to her. Then she secured her claws in the thick bark, and folded down so she was practically hanging under the branch. She stabbed her wrist blade straight into the lower side of the branch and as she wrenched it free it left a long, deep cut.

It took some work, but when she was finished there was a neat hollow under the branch – not deep enough to seriously harm the tree, especially not when you considered that the branch was more than an arm's length thick – but enough to hold the pack. LuRi'il used the bark she had cut to tie the pack in place in the hollow and swung her way back to the top of the branch.

"A hollow," she explained. "A Dina'amm habit."

JaLa'an's tail twitched approval as he leapt down to the ground to fetch another pack. Sira'aki did the same, and with LuRi'il helping all the packs were soon safe.

The three gathered on a thick branch, near the stem, all miserably wet and beginning to feel cold.

"Unfortunately we have no shelter to offer you," JaLa'an said to LuRi'il. "And it is unlikely we shall find any."

LuRi'il did not seem bothered. "No matter. Rain does not kill. Although sometimes it kills crops, and then we starve."

Sira'aki leaned back against the stem. The natural fear of water all Kelbrid shared did not, fortunately, apply to rain, but there was something distinctly uncomfortable with being draped in the cold liquid. The sound of it falling on the leaves and branches above and around her was strangely soothing, but having it running down her face, into her eyes and mouth, was only annoying.

"Have you always lived on Dina'amm?" she asked.

"No," LuRi'il said. "Only since the birth of my daughter."

"You have a daughter?" Sira'aki wondered, one mother's curiosity to another taking over.

"Yes. Ni'ilu. She is not yet Touched – but I fear she will be, in only a few days. There is to be a ceremony, and if _they_ decree her to be of age…"

'They'. The Priests of the Whole. Led by the High Quarteer, who was said to be the most powerful Kelbrid Touched ever to live. His word was law. His wish was supreme. His will was the same as that of the One.

The worst part was, he might even believe the fairytale himself. Really, he was no more than a puppet, like the rest of them, leaping when the One said "jump".

Sira'aki felt a sneer of contempt cross her face. Then the meaning of LuRi'il's words broke through and she realised what Ni'ilu – who would lose her name in the process – would face.

"She does not know of _Arnaha_?" JaLa'an asked, seeking to meet the prisoner's gaze.

LuRi'il looked away, this time in grief, fixing her brightly glowing eyes on her hands. "I had a chance of… saving her. But… informing you of _Arnaha_… it had to come first, before anything; the freedom of all Kelbrid comes before the freedom of… one…" her voice faltered, and when she forced it back it was very shrill. "…one child. So now, I cannot help her. And no-one else will."

Sira'aki felt something colder than rain clutching at her mind and heart. She must admit that the prisoner had a bolder psyche than herself. Perhaps being a Touched had forced that upon LuRi'il, but Sira'aki still admired it; feared it. What could drive a mother to put her child as only her second priority?

She herself could never turn so from KEdi'ir. The thought chilled her to her bones, made her horns quiver. She would never have been able to do what LuRi'il had done.

Never.

She was lost in thought for a moment, trusting JaLa'an to keep guard, expecting no dangers. LuRi'il said nothing more; neither did anyone else. The rain rustled in leaves and branches around them. Otherwise, the silence was complete.

Sira'aki would curse herself for it afterwards, but she did not notice the shudder that passed through LuRi'il. She did not notice when the Touched's eyes were slowly raised, quickly glancing around as if she had not yet seen what was around her.

She noticed when the prisoner let out a sudden cry of fury and leapt up from her place, horns struggling to break free from their chains and wrist blades already flashing towards Sira'aki's face.

At once Sira'aki flew up, realising what had happened, and – being too close to use her horns – raised her own wrist blades, partly freeing her claws from the bark to allow her to move more quickly but not let her fall.

She was quick, but not quick enough.

The green glow in LuRi'il's pupils suddenly disappeared, replaced by a glazed-over expression that Sira'aki knew all too well.

With a fluid, well-practiced motion, JaLa'an drew his wrist blade out of LuRi'il's neck and let the body fall limply down, from the branch and to the ground below. It landed face-down in the mud. JaLa'an turned his eyes forwards to meet Sira'aki's.

"You need to be more alert, Sira'aki Li'iKel's daughter, or you will find yourself killed," he said in a low voice, but more than slightly reprimanding.

Sira'aki nodded, face expressionless. "Yes. I noticed."

Jake felt the rain starting to drip heavily on his tiger shoulders, and with incredible swiftness it had drenched him and his companions in cold water. His fur lay plastered to his skin, a shade darker than usual, and felt heavy. The ground quickly turned from more or less dry forest floor to an endless pool of mud; mud that stained his paws and legs and belly and even face.

And the worst part was, the rain made it hard to see anything, made it impossible to hear if anyone approached, and completely erased any sense of smell. The smells carried in the air were struck to the ground with the water and nothing reached Jake's nose except the scents of wetness, mud, and rain.

The expedition took a turn to the worse. Everyone was wet, muddy and generally miserable. Every step was hard, since they were forced to battle the sticky mud to free their feet, paws, or hooves. But for some reason, (which was more or less obvious) the only one complaining was Marco.

"Could you just shut up?" Rachel finally growled at him, glaring in his general direction with her blind eyes. She had wrapped her arms around herself, shivering, and Jake was a bit worried that she might catch a cold, running around as she was in this weather, with clothes that were not exactly suitable. Her shoes, to begin with, were no more than the simple but sturdy fabric the Kelbird also used to make packs, wrapped several layers around her feet, and by then they were probably too wet and mud-stained to be of any use. It had not improved her temper.

Her hair, though, (for the same strange reason as always before, Jake supposed) stayed perfectly in place. And there was not a single mud-stain above her ankles. 

Can, yes. But will, no, Marco replied. He drew a hand across his face to wipe away the rainwater. The result was that the water was just replaced by the mud from his knuckles. Jake, this is _not_ part of my contract! Hunting Yeerks, yeah, sure, and being almost killed by Kelbird, fine. Strange food, okay, and different planets, hey, no problem. But mud! And rain! I _hate_ rain!

What are you going to do? Jeanne snapped. Call your lawyers?

I'm thoroughly considering it.

And tell them what? Your best friend and leader in more than three years of war is breaking his end of the deal by letting water drop down on you?

Marco glared at her with intense, black gorilla eyes.

You're not the only one troubled by the rain, Jake said.

Oh, of course not, Marco agreed amiably. I suppose our Fearless Leader also gets his fur wet. He's just too mighty, great and powerful to care. But I'm not half as mighty, great and powerful –

"Have you taken a good look at your morph, lately, Marco?" Rachel wondered innocently.

– as you are and I have no obligation whatsoever to play the self-sacrificing hero. I hate rain, and I'm going to let you know it.

Figures, Jeanne sighed.

"Rain is the least of our troubles," Rachel muttered suddenly. From the way her voice was tense, lowered, the others caught the warning and gathered closer to listen. "There are Touched up ahead. Kelbrid – in the trees. Probably waiting for someone to try to pass; they're guarding. Tom says they form a very wide circle."

You don't form a circle of guards around air, Marco reasoned, suddenly deciding to ignore the rain.

Our ship, perhaps, Menderash said in thought-speech, limping up to join the rest of them. His mouth was a thin, stubborn line; he seemed to believe that if he opened it it'd fill with water. Andalites knew so little about mouths.

Possible, Tobias agreed. The question is if we find out what, or we go around them.

Jake? Santorelli said questioningly.

We want to get past them, Jake decided, after some thought. Rach? Any ideas?

Rachel grinned. "Of course. Same one as I've used a couple of times before. I send Tom to cause some mayhem and provide a distraction, and we simply sneak past when they're busy."

And what about Tom? Jeanne wondered.

"He'll be fine. He'll catch up when he's finished playing with the Touched."

You sure it works? Marco said, blinking at Rachel through the rain.

"Never failed me yet."

You know, they could have said the same thing about the _Titanic_.

"The _Titanic_ was a machine. Tom is a kii-raja."

And that's supposed to reassure me because…?

It's as good a plan as any, Jake stated, before the two started gibbering too much. And the rain will provide all the extra cover we need. He nodded towards Rachel. Send him in.

Rachel gave Tom a short order and a set of gestures, followed by words. The beast watched her intently, then glanced around at the group as if to evaluate how safe it was to leave Rachel with them. Rachel made another – more strict – gesture and Tom slunk away, tail whipping from side to side behind him.

Now what? Santorelli asked.

"He'll inform me when it's safe."

Which must have happened a few moment later, for Rachel said "go", and the group hurried forwards. They hurried past a dead Kelbrid further in among the trees, his chest adorned by a line of stab wounds – from the spikes on Tom's back, most likely – and eyes staring emptily at the rain falling into them. His companions lay spread out in among the trees.

"Another job well done," Rachel mumbled proudly as they passed the corpses. Without Tom near, Tobias had taken over the task of showing her their surroundings. 

As long as he doesn't turn on us, that's all I'm saying, Marco muttered.

He'd never do that, Jeanne said. Would he, Rach? I mean, he's the sweetest little angel to ever walk on four legs…

Marco's face grew dark. Not an easy thing to do, considering that he was a gorilla and his face was already black.

"I must admit," Menderash said, scanning around them, maybe wishing he had his stalks. "That your beast, human, is effective. And well trained."

Jeanne beamed at him. Tobias glared suspiciously with a stalk, while Rachel shrugged, indifferent to the former Andalite's opinion.

There it is, Jake announced suddenly. The _Rachel_.

The trees in the area had been burned away – probably with dracons – to make room for their cruiser.

And not far beyond it is the Blade ship, Jeanne added.

Marco peered into the rain, which made it impossible to see the trees behind the _Rachel_, and turned anything further away to a grey mist. You can see it?

Above the trees, dummy. What else is huge, black, and looks nasty?

Marco looked up. Just as Jeanne had said, a large black shadow loomed over the trees. Oh. he sighed. What now?

Best to get closer first, Santorelli advised, and Jake gave a nod with his tiger head. They moved forwards with all the stealth they could summon and halted by the last standing bushes and trees, hopefully well hidden.

I count nine guards, Tobias said. All Hork-Bajir. Patrolling. We can take them out one by one.

Jake scanned the artificially burned-forth glade and noted where the Hork-Bajir were located. Okay, here's the plan. Santorelli, the one to the right, and the one behind him. Close enough, you should be able to notice them, despite the rain. Marco, the one halfway between us and the ship – and the one by the door, he'll come to help his friend. Jeanne? By the trees, further away. He'll be the one to run for help, so he's an important one. You'll need to chase him. Tobias, take the two to the left, and I'll go after the two by the front. Menderash, as soon as Marco's cleared the road, you go for the door and get our ship ready for takeoff so we can leave. Understood?

There was a set of 'yes's and nods. But Rachel crossed her arms angrily across her chest.

"And what about me?" she snapped. "And KEdi'ir?"

You, Rachel, are going to keep KEdi'ir with you while Tom's away and wait here until it's safe.

Rachel looked as if she might attempt strangling her cousin with her bare hands, be he in tiger morph or not.

Jake noticed that. And if you don't agree, I'll have Marco hang you over his shoulder and keep an eye on you.

Rachel's gaze went from poisonous to murderous. Marco laughed in thought-speech. You know, _that_ I can do anyway…

Rachel's anger found a new target. She swivelled towards Marco, fists clenched and eyes flashing. "If Tom comes back while you've got me over your shoulder, kicking and screaming, you _won't be keeping that shoulder_. Or your life."

So no kicking and screaming, Jake ordered calmly, although Marco seemed slightly unsettled. Stay here, Rachel. Do the rest of you remember what to do?

Another set of 'yes's and nods.

Rachel? You'll do as your told?

Rachel said a very rude word but nodded. Dismissing the others, she turned to KEdi'ir and began speaking in Kelbird.

Tobias took her hand and gave it a light squeeze. Do as Jake asks, he murmured privately, softly touching her lips with the fingertips of his other hand.

Rachel pulled away, yanked her hand free and shook her head. "Once again, Tobias; I'm blind, not helpless," she whispered in response.

No-one'll argue about that one, he assured her.

Jake had been close enough to hear her comment and now said; I know how you feel, Rachel. But personally, I'd rather have you helpless and alive than blind and dead.

Technically, she _is_ blind and dead, Marco snickered.

Shut up, Marco, Jeanne snapped. This is not the time for your stupid remarks.

Marco made a mocking gorilla bow towards the panther. If it pleases my lady.

I don't know about your lady, Marco, but your Fearless Leader would be pleased to see this show started, Jake said. So on three. One, two, three!

Jake sped out of cover and towards the front of the _Rachel_ where the two Hork-Bajir waited. Another two spotted him and turned to help their friends, but Santorelli's rhino put an effective end to that, as Marco cleared the route straight up to the _Rachel_ with his giant gorilla fists. Menderash sprinted out of cover as well as he could with his wounded leg and up toward the _Rachel's_ door. Jeanne was pursuing the ninth Hork-Bajir, who – as anticipated – was trying to get away to fetch backup. And Tobias's tail was whipping, too fast for the eye to see, at the chests, throats and faced of the two enemies he had before him.

The last Hork-Bajir finally slipped in the mud and Jeanne's claws and teeth made sure he wouldn't be getting back up. Rachel and KEdi'ir were quick to come out from their hiding place, just as Menderash reached the door to their cruiser.

The others were gathering around, but Santorelli was tossing his rhino head from side to side, nervous, and Jake seemed to agree, muttering about too easy.

Menderash's hand went up to the door – and through it. His eyes went wide. "Hologram!" he cried, and took a quick step back.

Suddenly a Kelbrid arm swept through what had seemed to be the _Rachel_'s hull and the wrist blade struck Menderash's shoulder, continuing down his arm and leaving a long, deep gash. The _nothlit_ fell back, hand grabbing at the sudden wound, teeth slamming together to stop the roar his pride would not allow him, and Jake leapt forwards to meet the attacker.

The hologram disappeared… to reveal more Kelbird than any of them could hope to handle. Jake came to a skidding halt in the mud, but snarled warning and didn't back away. Before anyone could think of something to do, the Kelbird had spread out and formed a circle around them. They drew together to a tight huddle in the centre.

A Kelbrid Touched stepped forwards and watched them all with intense, calculating, green-pupilled eyes. Finally, he turned away, flicking his horns. "_Ka'arik_ _ti'em_."

Rachel? Jeanne said, slightly nervous. What did he say?

"He said 'kill them'," Rachel growled, hand stretched out for a Tom that wasn't there. She jerked her hand back and clenched her fists determinately. But her head was turning quickly from side to side to listen for sounds, nervous, the lack of sight obviously bothering her.

Tobias took a step closer, taking her hand as if to comfort her. His tail was well raised and ready to strike. Water ran from the blade, dripping down on his back and shoulders. Rachel squeezed his fingers.

And the Touched began advancing. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Author's Note;

…and that's the last chapter.

Bwahahaha!

No, really. More later. I've barely come half-way so far, so… well, if anyone feels it's a bit long, then let me remind you of my past notes; "If you want to skip this series because it's too long, now would be a good time." That was chapter eight. So don't say I didn't warn you.

Anyway, congratulate me, cause this just passed the Time Matrix Chronicles in length. *does silly dance of joy* That story might not have been my longest creation, but it's close. And this one seems to be aiming for twice that. *winces*

Ah, well, better get back to writing.


	26. When rain falls

When rain falls

The Touched came forwards, steadily, in perfect lines, each ready for battle.

Jake glanced around. No ways out. The Touched lines were seven Kelbrid deep; which meant that in any direction, there were seven Kelbird blocking the route to freedom. Even if you passed them, you would have their neighbours after you.

They would be slaughtered!

At least he'd die fangs bared and claws extended. He gathered his legs under him and prepared to leap, preparing for the battle.

But there was no battle. A Hork-Bajir pushed angrily past the Kelbird, joining the Kelbrid leader. A human-Controller followed him.

"No!" he said, in heavily accented English. "They won't be killed! These are the same cursed rebels who fought us on Earth. We shall break their spirits, crush them beneath our will, make them scream for mercy! And when they do, we shall use them as hosts!"

The human-Controller translated into a sloppy version of the Kelbrid language which made Rachel sneer with contempt. The Kelbrid Touched shook his head, horns whipping, and spoke; again the human-Controller translated; "No – a prisoner alive is a prisoner that might escape. Kill them all." Then he paused, hesitating, noticing KEdi'ir. "Although the child, of course, is to be released."

The Hork-Bajir took an ominous step towards the Kelbrid, his bladed arms raised. "The One has himself requested the leader, the tiger, to be captured alive!"

Jake let out another snarl and bared his teeth even further. They could forget _that_!

The Kelbrid thought that over. "The Whole has given no specific instructions."

"Specific instructions, my ass!" roared the Hork-Bajir. "Do you wish to face the One's rage?"

The Kelbrid raised his horns. "What interest could the Whole have in these creatures? You Yeerks think of nothing but where your next victim comes from –" he paused, ears twitching outwards as if he was trying to hide a smile as he watched the outraged look on the Hork-Bajir's face. He added coldly;  "pardon me. I meant 'next_ host_'." He lowered his face in a scornful impression of a human's bow.

Even the human-Controller looked angered.

Straightening again, the Kelbird continued; "I do not fear the One; the worst he can bring me is pain and death. I refuse to risk these prisoners escaping – instead, I will risk His rage. Will you risk _mine_?"

The Hork-Bajir's determined anger wavered, seeing how the Kelbrid had formed a circle around him and the very nervous human-Controller. A hand stretched unconsciously for the dracon carried at his hip. A horn whipped it away. He glared with baleful eyes at the Kelbird leader, a touch of fear in his gaze, and then turned with a displeased grunt to stride hurriedly away. The human-Controller followed.

The Touched turned back towards their prisoners, set to carry out their leader's orders.

And this, Marco muttered, taking a place next to Jake, Is just great. Whose brilliant plan was this, really?

Mine, Jake muttered. Although 'brilliant' could be discussed.

Got that right. Any ideas?

There was a loud, exasperated sigh from behind them and Rachel came up, wearing a slightly annoyed expression. She called out a few words in Kelbrid and waited. Tobias, who was right behind her, must have sent her a picture because as soon as the Kelbrid leader turned – surprised to hear a human speak his language so well, but eyes still gleaming a dangerous, arrogant green and horns well raised – Rachel spoke again.

The Kelbrid's ears leaned outwards in a smile and he made a rumbling sound in his throat that might have been a laugh.

What are you doing, Rachel? Jake asked.

"Negotiating."

What did you say?

"I told him to let us go. He didn't agree."

Why am I not surprised? Santorelli wondered.

Rachel raised her voice and almost spat a sentence in the Kelbrid tongue, voice shrill. Her words wiped the smile of the Touched's face and made him take an involuntary step forwards, fists clenched and horns madly whipping above him.

What did you say this time? Marco demanded.

Menderash, pale and cradling his wounded and badly bleeding arm, stared at Rachel. She called him a honour-less, weak-horned coward, he whispered, unknowingly dropping back to his natural way of speech – by thought.

Silence.

So now he's pissed? Marco guessed finally in a very resigned manner.

"Oh, yes," Rachel agreed. "He's pissed."

Marco? Remind me never to have Rachel negotiate, Jake said. And Rachel? Do you know what 'subtle' means?

"Yes. Now excuse me one moment…" she took a deep breath and said something further in Kelbird.

Menderash?

She told him to… to let us go or she'll have him ripped open.

I may have to define 'subtle'… Jake muttered.

The Kelbrid all let out that rumbling sound, possibly laughter, from deep in their throats. But right then Rachel smiled broadly. "About time," she said. And added, louder; "Tom! _Get over here_!"

There was a cry of surprise and fear from behind them and sudden sounds of battle. Obviously backup had arrived.

"Tom'll clear a path, but we'll have to fight out and we'll have to do it quickly," Rachel informed them sharply.

Jake caught on immediately. Okay, you heard her, and we go in pairs, he yelled. Marco, you first – and Rachel, tell KEdi'ir to go with him. Santorelli, with me, and Jeanne, you get to look after Menderash. Tobias, take care of Rachel, and that's an order I know you'll follow. Back to where we stopped earlier by the first guard, make sure you're not followed, get there before nightfall or we won't wait, and keep an eye on the trees! Go go go!

They split into the ordered pairs and met a sudden onslaught from the Kelbrid. Their leader wasn't an idiot – he realised they were going to try to get away. He didn't like it.

Something which made Jake very impressed was that even though the Kelbrid had been more or less disorganized by the sudden turn of events, they were back in formation almost instantly, and only a second or so later they had regrouped to meet the attack from both Tom and from his own group. It worried him for a moment, and then he realised that instead of worrying he should start fighting. With a roar, he did so.

Santorelli simply lowered his rhino head and stormed right through the Kelbird lines, not bothered by the horns that whipped, trying to hinder him. He headed slightly to the side, in order to flatten – yes, _flatten_, because that's a fairly decent summary of what he did – as many Kelbird as possible. Tom was almost inside the circle, leaving a trail of dead or wounded Touched where he passed. Together with Jake and Marco, the two reshaped the circle into more of a half-moon. But Jake and Marco were not as well adapted for rummaging through the Kelbird as Santorelli was, finding that if enough horns wrapped around their necks, arms or legs, they would be slowed, even stopped, and cut by flashing wrist-blades and striking claws. So as soon as the route to freedom was properly opened they began retreating. KEdi'ir kept close to Marco, trying to keep out of the worst of the battle – which was easy, since the Touched mostly ignored him.

The Kelbird Rachel had spoken to had launched his horns forwards to grab her. One horn managed to seize her by the throat and had yanked her off her feet. Tobias was trying to help her, but his tail was locked in place by another set of horns – horns whose owner must have handled Andalites before, considering how easily he evaded the kicks Tobias aimed at him with his back hooves.

But Menderash suddenly came up behind the Kelbrid who held Tobias trapped. He grabbed the Touched's arm, twisted it, and stabbed the wrist-blade into the Kelbird's upper back and lungs – all without using his own left arm, which hung limply by his side.

The Touched stumbled, swivelling in surprise towards Menderash, but then his legs folded under him and he fell. But Tobias's tail was still trapped by tightly curled horns that refused to let go even after their owner's death. His tail-blade was pulled down low and useless. He couldn't help Rachel. Neither could Menderash, who suddenly faced an attack from another Kelbrid Touched.

Fortunately, Jeanne had just gotten away from her own assailant. After a quick decision she turned from Menderash, from Tobias, and to Rachel and the Kelbird whose horns held her trapped.

Rachel was struggling to free herself from those same horns, nimble and accustomed fingers searching for the weakness in the Kelbrid's hold. Just as Jeanne leaped she finally found it and her face lit up in triumph.

Jeanne flew towards the Touched's face, teeth bared and claws outstretched.

The next second she was roughly shoved aside and found herself sprawled on the muddy ground, rolling back to her feet. Tom had arrived, and he seemed to take the assault on Rachel as a personal insult. His dagger-like claws dug deep into the Kelbird's chest, and a snap of his jaws ended the Kelbrid's life – and ripped his head and left arm clear from the rest of him.

"Can't say I didn't warn him," Rachel said. Her kii-raja nudged at her with his cold nose, as if inquiring if she was okay.

Jeanne turned away to help Menderash. Jake had told her to look after the former Andalite, after all.

Rachel got rid of the horn, rose to her feet, and came to help Tobias. With Tom at her side, no Kelbird seemed eager to attack her any more.

"Look," she said, grabbing Tobias's tail in one hand and the horn in the other. "A locked grip – the end is tucked in." she fingered it carefully, and then pointed at a certain patch of horn. "See this? This won't let go for anything. Except if you free the end, and simply curl it away."

She yanked the tip of the horn free from under the coils she'd pointed at and twisted it towards itself. It came free with surprising ease.

"Always pull at the tip," she advised, suddenly reaching up with a hand to stroke Tobias's face. "Or you might as well save your energy."

I'll remember it, he replied, returning the gesture. Then looked around. Jeanne, don't you think it's time we left?

Jeanne's panther head bobbed in a nod. Come on, she said to Menderash, and he followed wearily as she turned to run.

The Kelbrid stormed forwards. At a gesture from Rachel, Tom leaped from her side to keep them back.

"We need to go, too," Rachel said.

I know. Tobias pranced a few steps. Up on my back. I'll carry you.

"I can run!" Rachel protested, eyes flashing.

And I can run faster! Now _up_!

Rachel muttered something but realised it wasn't the time to argue. She swung herself up on Tobias's back with all the agility of a gymnast. The unfamiliar weight made Tobias feel clumsy at first, until Rachel had arranged herself and he could distribute the weight on all four instead of only on his front hooves.

Don't fall off, he said, not sure if it was a piece of advice, a plea or an order. As he sprang away in a speedy Andalite gallop, he felt her arms and legs grip more tightly around him.

The feeling was not uncomfortable.

Tom stayed for a few minutes to keep the Kelbrid back, but even his superior speed and strength were unable to keep that many in line for very long. They just tried to go past him at his sides. His impeccable kii-raja loyalty urged him to go after Rachel, so finally, after slashing across a last Touched's face with his knife-like claws, he turned to follow the others.

Jake and Santorelli were the first to reach the place that had been chosen as a meeting point. Jake was, by then, more than a little annoyed at the constant rain, which again seemed to have increased. The mud beneath was slippery and heavy to run in. The sound, a ceaseless, droning smatter, drowned out every other sound. Everything beyond a dozen meters was a foggy grey mist, dark by the approaching night and impossible to see through. And neither Santorelli's rhino or Jake's tiger could detect the slightest wisp of scent – other than the sour smell of rain, mud, and general wetness.

They waited for the others to arrive, taking turns to demorph and remorph, counting the minutes.

Finally Marco stamped into view, KEdi'ir following closely behind him.

Have you seen any of the others? Jake asked, as he watched KEdi'ir leap up to a branch in a nearby tree and settle himself there, keeping lookout.

Marco shook his gorilla head. I have not seen anything except rain, rain, rain, and more rain. I have, though, a strong wish for an umbrella.

Might be hard to find an umbrella large enough for your gorilla, Santorelli commented.

Marco shrugged nonchalantly. I'm a millionaire. I'll have one specially designed.

Jake ignored his friend and peered into the rain. He'd said they'd leave at nightfall. He didn't see the sun, but from the way it was growing distinctly darker, night _was_ falling.

The others had better hurry.

Tobias ran until his legs were aching, perfectly aware – since Rachel had told him – that the Kelbird could easily pursue and outrun them both, if they wanted to. And to make it worse, the cursed mud was almost impossible to run in. But finally, shaking with weariness, he halted. 

"Tired?" Rachel guessed.

He nodded, turning half a step so he could look past her with his stalks, glance in amongst the trees behind them. He saw nothing except rain. Rachel sat with her head to the side, ears sharpened. Tobias tried listening for sounds as well, but he heard nothing more than he saw. The thought of what or who might be stalking them – watching them, hidden by the rain, just waiting for the right moment to strike – made him feel cold.

Rachel swung one leg over his back and slid down to the ground. She kept one hand gently resting on his arm. Once again it was very obvious that she was blind, and Tobias felt a sudden urge to look after her; protect her.

_Silly_ _thought_, he at once corrected himself. Rachel would hate to be thought someone who couldn't look after herself.

But she couldn't, now could she?

She was not morphable. Her body was that of a nineteen-twenty year old girl, devoid of any natural weapons – although perhaps stronger than she looked, he admitted, remembering how she'd fought the Kelbird Touched. And she was completely blind.

Rachel would never admit it herself, of course, but in the dangerous life she led she was dependant on those around her. She, who hated to be dependant on something, someone, anyone or anything, was now completely reliant on… on her kii-raja, Tom. He was her eyes, to make up for her blindness; her claws and teeth to make up for those she could no longer morph to.

My two hours are almost up, he said suddenly, and realised it was true.

"Then demorph," Rachel replied, shrugging.

But if I demorph, we'd be easy prey, he reminded her… and at once realised his mistake.

Her eyes flashed dangerously, bitterly. But to his surprise, she said nothing. Instead she simply nodded, resignation flashing across her perfect features. "How much time?"

A couple of minutes, Tobias said.

Another nod. "Tom'll be here by then, so it'll be safe." Changing the subject, she asked; "How dark is it?"

Growing darker, I suppose. he peered out into the rain, stalks turning skyways; he saw grey rain and grey sky. Nothing more or less; but he was pretty sure it was growing darker. Why?

"Jake said be there before nightfall, or they won't wait."

Tobias nodded, and only after that realised that she was unable to see the gesture. He couldn't help again feeling that wave of protectiveness. But when he decided to speak up and turned a stalk to watch Rachel, she had a distant expression on her face, as if listening.

Tom's coming? he guessed.

"Yep. It's safe to demorph."

Tobias did so, just as Rachel reported: "Tom says there are Kelbrid near. And a kii-raja. He passed them on his way here."

Do you think it's anything to worry about?

"This is a Kelbrid planet, and Tom isn't the only kii-raja in the universe, so no surprise, and no; nothing to worry about. If they come too close, he'll let us know. But this rain is not exactly helping his senses, either."

Not long after Tom trotted into view from the same direction they themselves had come. The kii-raja didn't as much as glance at the demorphing hawk-Andalite (a sight which usually would have drawn eyes like a magnet) but went straight to Rachel. He looked almost relieved when he took his usual place by her side, and only then acknowledged that perhaps Tobias existed, too. He did this by glaring suspiciously.

Sight and kii-raja regained, Rachel sighed with relief. She turned to Tobias and, when he was fully hawk, motioned towards her shoulder. He fluttered up to settle there, fluffing his feathers as best he could and burrowing his head down lower, almost between his wings.

I hate rain, he muttered. Hate it. I get my feathers drenched, I get cold, and, worst of all, I can't fly properly.

Rachel let out a merry laugh. "Then morph human, silly, if it bothers you. Tom's all the ears and eyes and nose we need."

And freeze as human instead?

She stroked his chest gently with her fingers and said in a very suggestive tone; "I'm sure we'll be able to think of some way to keep warm…"

He turned an eternally-fierce hawk eye to watch her. Orders were to directly go and meet the others.

Rachel shrugged her free shoulder, indifferent.

They might be worried. But he was already on the ground, beginning to morph.

"Why do you care, anyway?"

Guess what? Tobias said, coming out of his hawk shape at the same time he kept a cautious eye at Tom – who looked as if his lunch had just jumped out of the refrigerator, gotten into a cab and was leaving. "I don't."

He was relieved when the last of his features melted to human. Taking a step forwards, he closed his arms around Rachel and lowered his face towards hers. "Not at all." He kissed her gently, and, feeling how she responded by leaning against him, hands gripping the fabric of his old morphing suit, he couldn't stop a sudden smile.

"What's so funny?" Rachel asked, pulling away just enough to slip her arms around his neck. Her eyes were as usual staring into empty space, unable to focus, but she'd felt the smile against her lips.

"Nothing's funny at all," he assured her, planting a kiss on her forehead.

Another who thought nothing was funny at all was Tom. To let the world know, he let out a loud but slightly confused growl. Tobias's head jerked up. Turning his head, his gaze was met by the beast's golden glare.

Rachel leaned her head back as she suddenly remembered her kii-raja. "It's okay, Tom," she said in a soothing voice. "He won't hurt me."

Tom did not look convinced. If anything, he looked even more confused. He whined, sounding neglected, stretching up to push Rachel's hand off Tobias's shoulder so he could press his nose into it. Tobias narrowly avoided taking a step back in alarm at the sudden movement from the very formidable beast – who usually looked at him as if he was lunch. Such looks from such creatures tended to make people – and hawks – nervous.

Rachel encouragingly stroked her beast's head with the freed hand. "Don't worry, I'm not giving you up so easily. Just… go hunting or something for a few minutes."

Tom thought that over, but as always ended up doing as he was told. (He did not seem to be very big on initiatives at all, Tobias noted suddenly.) The kii-raja pressed his nose into Rachel's hand, gave Tobias an evaluating look, but then turned with a whisk of his tail and loped away.

"You know, we might have needed him around to keep an eye out for dangers," Tobias said. "Especially with those Kelbird you mentioned."

"He'll go hunting – he won't go far. He never does."

Tobias accepted that with a nod. Rachel had replaced her freed hand on his shoulder and he felt her fingers massaging the back of his neck in an dreamy, thoughtful manner. Then something Rachel had said struck him. "A few minutes?" he repeated, and it was almost a complaint.

Rachel laughed, grew serious, and then her lips searched for his as she mumbled; "Tom can't count, anyway."

Tobias again lowered his face so she could find it more easily and tightened his arms around her, returning the kiss.

Then thing happened quickly. In fact, he was not sure what, exactly, happened until afterwards. Rachel had stiffened in his grip, face suddenly alert, and she had been about to say something, when suddenly strong hands had seized his shoulders and tore him away from her. He was thrown back and rolled several times before he had any chance at getting back up.

Through vision that was still spinning, Tobias saw a Kelbird standing over him, watching him with gleaming, green eyes, and slowly raising a wrist-blade. One was further away, silently advancing on Rachel, who had no idea what was around her.

Then Tom was there was well, desperately trying to get to Rachel. But he was pursued and hindered by another kii-raja, who was furiously attacking the side of his neck, attempting to stop him. The other kii-raja had a coat shaded in silver, was more slender and slightly taller. Tobias was not sure of exactly how, but he at once knew it was a female.

Tom was quicker than the other beast, but she held the advantage in size, weight and reach. Finally Tom found himself forced to turn and fight face to face, and their motions – already barely visible – sped up even more, making it impossible for anyone with human eyes to understand what was happening.

Tobias threw himself past the Kelbird. Scrambling up to his feet, he thought he might actually get away, when suddenly he felt a horn wrapping around his leg and sweeping his feet out from under him, making him fall heavily forwards. He managed to twist when the Kelbrid came closer, and with some trouble avoided a wrist-blade that had flashed down towards him. The wrist blade overshot, stabbed down into the mud, and before the Touched had time to pull it away, Tobias had grabbed the arm by the elbows and tugged the Kelbird off his feet.

He was, somehow, quicker than his opponent and before the Kelbrid had a chance at getting up he was running towards Rachel and threw himself at the Touched that was advancing on her. He locked his arms around the Kelbird's shoulders and momentum threw them both to the ground.

"_Tobias!_" Rachel cried, hoping he was close by. "Where's Tom? He's not speaking to me!"

Tobias pulled away from the Kelbird enough to swing a fist at the side of his head and then flew back to his feet. He took a gentle hold of Rachel's arm. Her hand gripped his shoulder.

"Tom's busy," he informed her. "Another kii-raja."

Rachel gave a curt nod, worry appearing in her eyes. "He told me something attacked him, but then –"

Tobias felt the horn strike his arm, curl around it, and rip him away. The first Kelbird was after him again. He was violently thrown through the air, against a tree, and landed and rolled. This time, feeling as if he'd taken a ride in a washing machine, and horns whipping at him for every motion, he didn't get up as easily as before. His mind was unfocused, spinning.

He twisted enough to see the Kelbird turn away from him and say a sharp word. The female kii-raja backed away from Tom, snarling, rejoining her master. Tom went directly to Rachel, pressing a nose into her hand and coming to stand just beside her. Both beasts were battered and bleeding. The Kelbird examined his pet with a quick glance, scowled as if angered, and looked up towards Rachel, horns whipping madly.

"_Ku'u-fach garek!_" spat the Kelbird shrilly. "_Ky'y i'art ikalth! _"

Rachel's face flushed with rage, eyes flashing, and she raised a hand for Tom to pay attention – and then remembered the other kii-raja. Her hand – shaking with anger – was lowered, expression twisted as she fought to keep herself back.

There was clearly deadlock, which became even more obvious when one noted the way the two kii-rajas were glaring at each other. That was, in it's own way, to Rachel's disadvantage, since Kelbird backup was likely to arrive before Animorph backup did.

Tobias had an idea at how to correct matters. He pulled himself to his feet, forcing his aching body to obey him, grabbing a stone he had found in the mud next to him. 

"_Fa'arich_!" continued the Kelbrid.

That was his last word. Tobias raised the stone in his hand, being perfectly silent, and slammed it onto the Touched's head. There was a gurgling sound as the alien collapsed. Tobias fell to his knees, relieved, head still spinning from having been tossed into the tree. 

At first, he felt only surprise as the Kelbird's wrist blade struck him, cutting into his chest. Then he felt the pain, and in an rush of adrenaline he beat the stone against the Kelbrid's head again, stopping the wrist-blade half-way through a slash. The stone, forgotten, fell out of his hand. Only after that, and after falling back, came the realisation that he was bleeding. Badly.

_Demorph_, _Tobias_,_ you have to_ _demorph_… he told himself. He saw two golden eyes on a confused silver face stare down at him as his head fell back on the mud. He knew it was the kii-raja, but was too dizzy to notice the confusion, and the urgent chant in his head of "demorph" was replaced by the thought "_that thing is going to kill me_."__

He had no time to think any more before he blacked out.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

Author's note;

*rubs hands* An _excellent_ little cliff-hanger, if I may say so myself.

For those who are curious… the translation to the sentences in Kelbird above:

Ku'u-fach (a general insult, no direct meaning) ---- garek (a non-Kelbird) ---- Ky'y (it) ----  i'art (be not/is not) ---- ikalth (trained) ---- Fa'arich (idiot/incompetent) 

Obviously, someone claiming her kii-raja was not trained would automatically end up on Rachel's bad side. *could have added long, boring essay on the principles of kii-raja training here, but wisely decided not to*

The next part will be up later. Hope you enjoy the wait. *evil laughter*


	27. What is hidden inside a phone

What is hidden inside a phone

Jeanne paused once again, blinking through the rain and glancing behind her. Menderash almost stumbled into view, face nearly as grey as the rain. But his entire left side was red with blood, and the hand that clutched at the wound was covered with the same.

Are you okay? Jeanne asked, for maybe the twentieth time. She leaped up next to him and spied in amongst the trees. No signs of pursuers. Should we stop and rest?

Not until we reach the others, Menderash replied in a voice sounding as if it came through gritted teeth and continued forwards at a merciless speed.

Whoa, at least we could slow down a bit! Jeanne said, joining him and then shortening her strides. He sank gratefully back to her pace, and she asked; How far is it?

Shouldn't be far, Menderash muttered. It was his instinctive Andalite sense of direction that had led them towards the place Jake had decided on. But considering that the former Andalite could barely keep on his feet, Jeanne was not so sure of how trustworthy his instincts were.

To her surprise, there had been no pursuers. Not that she was complaining – but it did make her suspicious. The rain had basically eliminated any sense of smell, or hearing, and most of sight as well, and she wouldn't have been surprised if someone was following them and had managed to remain unnoticed. She had to trust her panther morph, which always before had become tense and wary even before she herself noted the danger.

The panther told her there was nothing to worry about.

Despite Menderash's brave front, it was soon apparent that he wouldn't be able to go much further. Jeanne slowed their pace again, wondering quietly what she would do if the former Andalite collapsed. Her panther couldn't carry him – she had no morph that could, and although dragging him through the mud might have been effective, it was probably not an alternative. Well – not a _good_ one. She was more or less sure that her own human form would be strong enough, if it came to that, but the idea of barging around blindly and slowly through these woods, unprotected and with such a heavy burden, did not appeal to her.

Not far now, said Menderash finally. He peered forwards, swaying where he stood. Just a few… thirty, maybe forty meters. Straight ahead.

Jeanne, who had been playing with different ideas in her head, came to a decision. Sit down, she ordered.

He gave her a killing glare. I am perfectly able of –

_Sit_! _Down_! Jeanne repeated harshly, snarling lowly, turning towards him with teeth bared. The weary Andalite backed away and sank meekly to the ground, near a tree, almost hidden by the mass of bushes.

Good.

I am going to make sure the rendez-vous point is secure, she informed him firmly. In case it is, I will return within five minutes. If not, it will take longer. You are to remain here, and –

Menderash made an attempt to get back to his feet, using the tree to support him, but Jeanne shook her panther head.

Stay here. If hostiles have infiltrated the rendez-vous, I will have to flee. I do not want you there in that case, because you would slow us down. You might be captured – or worse, you might get us both captured.

Menderash glared at her with eyes as sharp as an Andalite tail-blade, and made another attempt to stand up. You can't give me any orders, he spat. You're but a soldier, a _human_ _soldier_, and I am a First Officer of the Andalite –

A severely wounded First Officer, in no condition to fight, flee, make decisions or give out any orders, Jeanne countered. Now sit! Do not avert from location! And whatever you do, do not fall asleep.

If only I'd been Andalite… Menderash growled in response, his anger causing his thought-speech-voice to quaver.

If you'd have been a non-morphable Andalite and this badly wounded, the only difference would have been that it'd have been harder to hide you. Being human isn't that bad, Menderash, but for almost any creature being wounded is being weakened – although Andalites don't seem to realise it. she let her voice soften. Don't worry. Just stay here, and stay awake.

Menderash gave her a glance, the anger fading out of his expression, replaced by fatigue, and he nodded wearily. His eyes were already beginning to close. His breathing was unsteady; rasping and irregular.

Jeanne regarded him, herself worried despite her brave words. I'll hurry back, she promised. She made sure the former Andalite was safely hidden among the bushes, and then turned to leap away. Alone, it was easy for the panther to keep to a good speed, and soon she was closing in on her destination, slowing down, crawling together and starting to grow cautious.

She was more than a little proud of herself when she, without having been spotted, came to just behind where a large gorilla loomed. She knew how watchful Marco and the other Animorphs usually were, and admitted it was probably only because of the rain she was able to get so close.

Still, she couldn't help playing them a little joke. She crouched down, keeping near the ground, head lowered, and crept closer to the gorilla with all the panther's silent, deadly stealth. She aimed for Marco's shoulders and prepared to leap.

_Movement_.

The next second she was sprawled on her back, a very angry tiger standing over her, snarling, his fur bristling. Marco turned around, not looking the least bit surprised. Behind him, KEdi'ir dropped down from a tree. Santorelli, a human, looked at her from beside Marco, arms crossed over his chest and eyebrows raised.

She'd obviously been seen.

Damn it, she commented.

The tiger stopped snarling and instead scowled down at her. Jake had chosen a good morph, she noted; tigers were excellent for scowling.

Grow up, Jeanne, he said, voice more than slightly reprimanding. No games when I'm on watch. I might have killed you.

He took a step aside to let her go, and she rolled back up on all four. You didn't.

Pure luck. Where's Menderash?

A few meters back. He can barely keep on his feet, and I thought that if this place had been infiltrated by hostiles, we'd have to flee, and he's in no condition to do any running.

The tiger eyed her critically. So you basically left a wounded friend unattended in the middle of hostile territory.

Way to go, Jeanne! Marco cheered. Jake glared at him and he decided it might be a good idea to keep quiet. And to take a step back.

Jeanne sat down, lifting a muddy paw and surveying it critically. I made a tactical decision, Jake, she said as she lifted the other and nonchalantly inspected her claws. She had not chosen badly herself; panthers were experts at nonchalance. I'm not sure he'd have made it even this far without collapsing. And then I'd probably have had to leave him anyway, at least for a few moments. I was just going to make sure you were here, safe, and go straight back. It _is the right thing to do in such a situation. she put both paws back down and met the tiger's gaze._

After thinking it over for a long, silent minute, Jake nodded. Too late to do anything about now, anyway. Go back and get him. Marco, go with her. Don't argue. You'll probably need to carry him, if Jeanne isn't exaggerating.

Wouldn't do that, Jake, Jeanne said.

Marco huffed. That Andalite is proud enough to keep on his feet even if someone chopped them off. He won't accept being carried, no matter if he's so weak he needs a respirator to keep him alive.

Shut up, Marco, Jeanne growled, leading the way back in the direction she had come. Marco grumbled sourly in thought-speech but followed without complaint.

Cassie surveyed her surroundings, landed, and demorphed once again. She had – as usual – seen nothing. Nothing suspicious – nothing leading to those who were still terrorizing her Hork-Bajir friends.

Jake's morphers were a lot of help in keeping the Hork-Bajir safe, true, but their different schedules formed an effective limit to how much they were able to help. It was only rarely more than one of them was there at the same time, and even more rarely that any of them were able to stay more than a few days. 

At the time, none of them were at the habitat, and Cassie was the only one available to do surveillance. She was very tired, having spent the entire day on wing, and came out of her morph already yawning. She put her constant companion, her mobile phone, in a pocket on her new, morphable jacket.

"I thought you might land here," said a bemused voice from right beside her.

At first she was alarmed, but then calmed down as she recognized the voice; a voice tainted with a metallic clang that you heard only if you knew it was there.

Erek King's hologram flickered from a young tree to his normal, human appearance. His holographic face was smiling, but still he seemed annoyed.

"I'm happy to see you, Erek," Cassie said, relieved, sinking down to sit on a large stone. "I –"

"Wait." The hologram disappeared, leaving his true android form standing before her. She guessed that the hologram was not gone, but had just reshaped to conceal them both. "You contacted me. Now what do you want?"

Definitely annoyed. Cassie sighed mentally, eyes darting to the side before turning back to the Chee. She ran her fingers through her short hair. "I was hoping I could ask you a favour."

"_I_ _knew_ _it_. A favour. Just like Jake wanted a favour. I'm not sure I want to be around you Animorphs any more, and I'm not that eager to do you any more favours, either."

"If you knew that's what I wanted, and you're planning to refuse, then why did you even show up?" Cassie wondered, wanting to get past this stage of the conversation as quickly as possible.

"Excellent question." The android glared at her – as much as a pacifist robot ever could glare. "So what, exactly, did you have in mind?"

"I need someone to help me with the Hork-Bajir. They're in trouble."

"They're still being killed?" Erek wondered, voice now soft, his anti-violence programming spurring him to be concerned.

"Fewer killings over the last few days. But since last month we've lost nine. Kidnapped. Alive or dead, I don't know. And I don't understand it. They've got orders to stay close, and if they're gone they'd have had to have left freely. Even if someone could have come close enough to grab one, that'd have alerted the others. I don't understand it."

"And what can I do?"

"I was hoping you Chee could help me with surveillance. I know that you can't interfere if something should happen, but you can watch, you can alert security, and I'd feel much safer, because I know I can trust you. I need to find and bring down those bastards, those –" she proceeded with a list of more colourful descriptions. She was very eloquent, and very creative, until…

"Watch your language, Cassie," chided the Chee, making her mouth snap closed with a guilty expression. He peered at her with his dark eyes. Hard to believe when you saw those eyes and how expressive they were that they were artificial. "You seem nervous. What is it? And why do you ask this _now_? Has it something to do with you being shot?"

"Not… exactly," Cassie said, staring down at her hands for a few moments before looking up again. "I'm leaving Earth."

Erek did not look surprised. "You are," he simply said.

"I hate leaving the Hork-Bajir and Toby like this, but Jake's morphers will be around whenever they can, and security here is the best available, and there's always Ronnie, and... I was hoping you could help."

"We… the Chee… can't tell anyone what we are… you know that."

"Toby knows. You can work with her. No-one else needs to know."

The dark, artificial eyes studied her further, seemingly looking straight through her and into her very soul. "Cassie?"

"Yes?"

"What about Ronnie?"

Cassie bit her lip. "What about him?"

"Does he know? Or is he perhaps coming with you?"

"Ronnie wouldn't be happy leaving Earth," Cassie stated quickly.

"Does he know?"

"Only Toby knows. She'll tell the others. When I'm already gone." She gave the android an exasperated look. "I can't stay here any longer. It's driving me insane. I… I have to know what happened to the others. To Jake, and Tobias, and Marco, and Ax, and… Jake."

"You already mentioned him."

Cassie looked flustered, but she threw her hands out, shrugged, and continued; "I just have to _know_. I have to. They're my best friends, my family, even, and… I can't sit here and wonder. Maybe they need my help. Maybe –"

"Cassie, calm down. I'm not a judge – at least not during this century – and you don't need to explain yourself to me."

Cassie took a deep breath, shoving her hands into the pockets of her jacket and pulling her legs up further on the stone. Her bare feet looked frozen in the chilly evening air, but she didn't seem to notice. Maybe she was used to it. "I'm just nervous, Erek. Nervous. That's all. I hate leaving Ronnie behind like this, to begin with, but…" she sighed.

"You value the Animorphs higher than him."

Cassie nodded, sadly. "I feel terrible about it, but… I don't know. I'll be back someday, and I just have to hope he'll understand. Don't think he will, though. And in that case, maybe it's for the best."

"Maybe it is." The andriod made a wry face. "Well, I need to go find Toby –"

"Thanks, Erek, it really means a lot," Cassie interrupted, looking greatly relieved.

Erek nodded. "I'm sure I'm going to regret this, but you're welcome. Now you've probably got surveillance to take care of…"

Cassie nodded, slid down from the stone and drew her hands out of her pockets. The mobile phone fell out as well, slamming into the stone and falling to the ground in two pieces. Cassie bent down to pick it up, but Erek – looking alert – was quicker. He took one part and lifted it, surveying it carefully.

Cassie lifted the other, and then sent the android a glance. "What is it?"

"That's what I'm wondering," Erek said. He removed a small, green chip from the side of the phone – the part that had been the inside – with surprisingly nimble fingers and held it out on his palm. "Seen this before?"

Cassie frowned, and shook her head. "I'm not very technological, Erek. I'm not even sure I'd be able to put the phone back together just now. Isn't that supposed to be there?"

"This is a tracking device, Cassie," said Erek, who suddenly looked very serious. "And no, it's not supposed to be there. Unless you want whoever calls your mobile to be able to pinpoint your exact location."

Cassie took the tiny chip between her fingers and studied it. "Is that a bad thing?" she asked, knowing it was a stupid question but not being able to help it.

"That depends on who's calling. But one thing's for sure – it was not put there by the phone company." He retook the chip. A niche opened under one of his eyes, and he inserted the chip there. It took only a moment before he spoke again; "It's not been used often, fortunately. You have to call from a special number to it, so I was wrong – anyone wouldn't be able to tell where you were. The number wouldn't show on screen, either. Very simple, but ingenious, in its own way."

"What's the number?"

"Whatever it is, it's not in any phone books I have access to. Can't trace it that way – and if I can't, it probably won't help you, either. I'll have a closer look over Chee-net later."

Cassie nodded. "How long has it been there?" she wondered.

"I don't know." The android had taken both parts of Cassie's broken mobile phone, examined them, and put them back together. "Do you want the chip back as well?"

Cassie shook her head, taking the phone Erek handed her with a noticeable degree of reluctance.

"Keep an eye open, Cassie," Erek warned. "Something's not right here."

Cassie shrugged. "That, I already knew. Probably the same madmen who are after the Hork-Bajir."

"Or the ones who tried to kill you."

Cassie gave him a short look, realising he was right. "Could still be the same people," she pointed out.

Erek nodded. He switched his hologram back to surround only himself and at once disappeared from sight. "That doesn't make me feel much better – be careful. I'm going to find Toby. Good luck with your surveillance."

Cassie didn't bother to wonder if he was still around, or if he actually had already left. She began morphing back to osprey. One last shift, she thought, and then she'd go back to camp and call it a night. She wanted to spend some time with Ronnie before her departure, too.

Grumbling, Jeanne led Marco back to where she had left Menderash. The rain was still falling heavily, and her senses were worse off than ever. After having been knocked over by Jake she was – involuntarily – wearing a heavy layer of mud in her black panther fur. No matter – the rain would soon wash it out. That didn't stop her from complaining.

He just had to push me into the worst mud pile in the forest, did he? she muttered, again drawing a paw across her face to remove the mud from her eyes.

Even being in gorilla morph didn't stop Marco's apparent grin. Well, you asked for it. You should've known better than to sneak on an Animorph. Sorry – did I say _sneak? I meant __try __to __sneak. Try to. Try. And fail. Haha._

Most amusing.

It was, wasn't it? he sighed, obviously working very hard on keeping a straight face. But you shouldn't complain. That mud goes great with your eyes.

Jeanne bared her fangs at him. Marco leapt a step aside. And your teeth, too, now that you point it out. But I think you need to brush those things more often.

Shut. Up.

You know, I've been told that so many times I think I'm growing immune. Are we there yet?

Jeanne glanced around. It was hard to localize herself in this constant rain. But she managed and continued forwards. Just a little further.

That's what you said the last time.

Oh, shut up.

Marco nodded importantly to himself. Yep, definite immunity coming on. That didn't affect me the least.

So I noticed. Here we are. Menderash?

No reply. He must have fallen asleep or fallen unconscious, despite all, Jeanne thought, walking over to the bushes behind which she'd left the _nothlit. Her nose twitched futilely, trying to catch some sort of scent. Hello?_

Those the bushes? Marco muttered, joining her. The Andalite probably fell asleep. Allow me. he brushed the bushes aside with a gigantic gorilla hand.

No Menderash.

You sure this is the place? Marco grumbled, letting the bushes fall back and giving Jeanne a questioning glance.

Jeanne nodded numbly. I'm sure… he can't have left, he could barely walk, and still… he wouldn't… wouldn't walk out on us – would he?

No, Marco said sourly. Wouldn't. Too damn proud. he shook his head. I don't like this.

Jeanne whisked the tip of her tail, panther senses suddenly alert. Are we being watched?

Yep, that too. He made an almost undetectable gesture towards a tree to their right, where one could detect a glimmer of green. But most of all, I don't like having to tell Jake that Menderash's gone. He will not be happy. Let's go.

Marco set a high speed for returning to Jake, KEdi'ir and Santorelli, and Jeanne kept pace easily with her loping panther run.

We'll be able to track him, right? she said.

Marco let out a gorilla huff. In this weather? Not likely. No scents, no traces, no witnesses, no evidence, no nothing. A wolf couldn't track a spraying skunk in weather like this. Feels like someone's pouring an ocean over us. I find myself considering my orca morph.

Then how…

If we're going to find him, we'll have to put our faith in old Lady Luck. But considering that Menderash disappeared to begin with, we are currently on the Lady's bad side. he shook his head again. Jake is _so not going to like this._

Aralgo decided that this was an excellent opportunity to panic.

He had not panicked at any time since leaving the Home World (except for that slight outburst of claustrophobia at the first sight of his quarters, but that didn't count). He had remained calm throughout entering Kelbrid space, the rushed escape from the _Daybreak, the (on his part very brief) encounter with the Kelbird on their planet, or at any other time._

But here he was, alone in the _Phantom_ with two angry Andalites he was pretty sure were Controllers and wanted him infested. Or perhaps dead. He liked neither alternative. So he quickly decided that, yep, it was enough cause for a good fit of panic.

Having come to that decision, he was preparing to do so – when something completely unexpected happened.

The two warriors were advancing, tails raised and looking generally menacing, when suddenly one tripped and fell flat on his face.

One of Minalea's trip wires had caught his left front hoof.

Aralgo sent a silent and sincere thank-you to Minalea's over-done fondness for making people stumble, blessing it with a long and healthy existence – far away from himself, preferably, but still long and healthy.

Being smart enough to see an opportunity when it came, he abandoned his plan to panic and instead darted forwards, flashing his tail at the warrior's head to knock him out.

He didn't even have time to pull back before the other Controller attacked. At once he noted that the attacker's skills would push his own to their limit – perhaps further. There was no way he could win. He found himself in a defensive stance, working hard just to avoid being struck, with no time or energy to even try striking back.

He was forced to back away, step by step, and soon he was fighting with his back against the wall. And finding it highly uncomfortable.

Fortunately, his stalks detected the shredders lying sloppily abandoned (the crew consisted of youngsters, after all) on the counter to his right. He managed to drop and roll in that direction, getting up and grabbing a shredder as he passed them.

The warrior was at him before he could think. Aralgo pressed the trigger by pure instinct. The beam caught the side of his adversary's neck, making the Controller pull back with a sudden cry.

Aralgo shut the sound out. He calmly raised the shredder, just as he had been taught, aimed carefully, and fired.

It was a clean shot that struck flesh right on the middle of the warrior's forehead. He slumped together, falling backwards over his own tail. Aralgo didn't have the hearts to find out if he was unconscious – or dead. He tossed the shredder back onto the counter – just as sloppily as it had been tossed before – and quickly dragged both limp Controllers out through the _Phantom_'s door. He left them on the floor of the docking station.

Without any delays, he hurried back inside the ship and locked the doors, barricading himself inside. He'd stay there until the others returned, and until he was certain they had not been infested.

The wait for someone to show up was short: Olana did. She was followed by two swaggering warriors.

Aralgo! she called, with more authority than he had ever heard her use, open the door!

Not so fast, Aralgo replied, privately. this ship is full of Controllers. You're not coming in until you prove you're not one of them. And those two behind you are not coming in at all.

But that would take three days! Olana complained.

Yes, well then too bad, huh? Aralgo said. No Yeerks in the _Phantom_. For I do not think Captain Kandion would approve of that. Do you?

Olana stared at him at first, and then simply laughed. Aralgo watched her through the _Phantom_'s window, saw her walk up to the ship's door and place a hand on the pad next to it. Open door, she ordered the ship.

Computer; disregard, Aralgo snapped, slamming his own hand on a pad on one of the consoles. Keep all entrances closed, sealed and locked.

Computer, Olana's voice rang out, clear and with a touch of mocking confidence, this is _aristh_Olana-Soiru-Jinala. Activate control program 592-63-_dalaf_ with access code; _black_ _ghost_. Overrule previous command. Open door. _Now_.

Aralgo tried to counter the order, but the cruiser's database ignored him. The door opened, and Olana stepped daintily inside, looking very pleased with herself. Her stalks swept across the ship's bridge and stopped, focusing on Aralgo.

Computer, construct force field cage around location C5.

When Aralgo realised what that meant, the force field had already formed, effectively trapping him.

Very clever of you to figure that energy code out, Olana said, surveying the code where it still hung on the hologram, and assuming that he had done so. But too late, I'm afraid.

Too late for what? Aralgo asked.

Why, too late to save you, of course, Olana laughed. She walked past the force field and to a console – standing easily within tail's reach. Aralgo felt his blade twitch. If it hadn't been for that force field… whatever else Olana might be, she was not a skilled tail-fighter. He could have beaten her in two swipes. Or less.

And if he could beat her, she'd have been chanceless against whoever else had attacked her. She'd have been easy prey for anyone wanting to infest her… for infested she must have been.

And that meant she needed to be stopped.

As you probably realise, I made a few modifications to the computer earlier, she told him conversationally, one stalk regarding, amused, the calculating vehemence on his face. When we entered Kelbrid space, I made sure the ship was programmed to avoid being stolen. I've now activated that programming, and the ship listens to me – me, and no-one else.

She turned towards him, leering openly now in a way that was so unlike Olana it was almost scary. Unfortunately, she drawled in a haughty voice, My new host fell into her own trap: this ship will not be used by anyone other than members of its crew, yes, but what if the crew has been… _converted_?

Not all of us, Aralgo growled. That arrogant look stung his pride – and if there's anything an Andalite won't take, it is harm to his pride.

That, little _aristh_, sneered the Controller, is only a matter of time.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Author's Note;

I was planning to do something I do all too seldom, and actually answer to reviews *hurray*… more or less, that is.

J-Rae asked for romance between Minalea and Carali, *two of my own characters… am very happy someone actually noticed them*, which will be coming later on. Although not necessarily with a happy ending. Also, very happy that Alikat showed appreciation for *my* Tom – glad you like the beast. A warning; he'll be more of a "beastic" problem later on. And to everyone (well, two people; Angelofcloud9 and flying) who're hoping Tobias is still alive, I can tell you that, yep, he is. He survived that encounter, at least. Haven't killed him off yet. But I won't promise anything. That would ruin a good supply of possible cliffhangers. I'm very fond of cliffhangers.

And to the rest of everyone who's reviewed this story, thanks, I *love* reviews. A bit too much sometimes, perhaps. Hm. *jumps up and down hoping for more wonderful little reviews*

Now excuse me, must go write on chapter 30.

And, by the way, the next chapter may take some time. That depends on if I manage to get it up before I leave on vacation. Four weeks without computers. If I survive that, I'll survive anything.


	28. Where the nothlit went

Where the _nothlit went_

When Tobias came back to his senses he was gently cradled on Rachel's lap.

And he was back hawk.

With some relief, he ruffled a wing to show that he was awake, and could feel a hand gently tracing the side of his head. He opened his eyes.

I'm not dead, he commented. Then, suddenly uncertain, added; Am I?

"Of course not," Rachel murmured. She was smiling, but there was relief in her expression, and dark lines around her eyes that betrayed that she'd previously been very worried. Tom was lying next to her, watching Tobias with the same suspicious glare as always. Otherwise he looked moderately bored.

I thought that kii-raja would rip me apart.

Rachel frowned. "Why should she? The Kelbird who owned her was dead – there was no-one to boss her around. So she left – poor thing'll be confused, and disoriented, having lost her master, but that can't be helped."

I killed that Kelbrid, though, Tobias pointed out. He turned, grasping Rachel's arm with his talons and sitting up properly. The hawk did not like lying on his back. Not the smartest thing I've done.

Rachel shrugged. "She wasn't trained to protect. If she had been, you'd have been dead before raising that stone the first time, but most kii-raja aren't."

Why not?

"They tend to overdo things – you've got no idea how long it took me to convince Tom that someone trying to hand me a piece of food was not out to harm me. And you saw how he reacted when Jake started yelling. And Jake's a person he's been specifically told to leave alone."

Tobias accepted the answer, knowing very little about kii-rajas as it was, and regarded her with his fierce hawk gaze. How did I end up hawk again? Last thing I remember was thinking about that kii-raja.

"I think you demorphed while unconscious. That can happen sometimes, if I remember correctly. Lucky you did."

Only then did Tobias realise it had stopped raining. The sun was shining down by the horizon, colouring the sky red and gold. He was very hungry – and thirsty, too.

How long was I out? he asked lowly.

"Too long. Tom tells me it's dawn. We better find the others."

Tobias sighed mentally. You're probably right.

Rachel stood up in a fluent motion, lifting him up to her shoulder. Tom arose beside her, not as fluently, hindered by his wounds. But he was as alert as always, and when Rachel began walking her kii-raja did not leave her side. Tobias noted that the beast was still watching him suspiciously, and quietly resigned to endure those sharp golden eyes for the rest of his days, if it was necessary.

As long as he did not have to endure the sharp but not-so-golden _teeth, he thought dryly, he'd be happy._

You said Menderash was _what?! Jake exclaimed. Marco and Jeanne jumped back an entire step each. Santorelli and KEdi'ir watched him warily from a safe distance._

Gone, Marco said. He was gone. There was nothing we could do.

Jake stared at him. Then spun away with a frustrated snarl and paced a few steps; turned, and paced back. Jeanne, remind me again why you left him to begin with.

Jeanne hesitated, and spoke with a low voice; He wasn't exactly in prime condition, and I thought –

You _THOUGHT! roared the leader of the Animorphs in a voice capable of waking the dead. In the neighbouring galaxy. There's the problem, then. You're not here to think. You're here to __do as you're told!_

Jeanne shrank back, panther ears folded back against her neck. It was the first time Jake was properly angered at her since they left Earth, since the mission had started – and it was not turning out to be a pleasant experience.

Marco spared a look at the panther and took a step between the two large cats. Lay off, Jake.

The tiger snarled at him and spun away to pace some more in an effort to calm down. He didn't succeed. He glared at Jeanne, claws flashing forwards and being retracted again.

You should at least have – he began.

Should at least have what? Jeanne wondered, deciding to toughen up, because she did not want Marco to think she needed any sort of protection – especially not from one of their own. He might get the wrong idea. He often did – probably on purpose, too. There's no time for 'should have's… they'll do us no good. We should find Menderash again… and quickly.

Any sign of Rachel or Tobias? Marco asked.

Jake shook his tiger head. That was another thing he had to worry about.

Think they're in trouble?

Tom's with them, Jeanne huffed. They won't get into any trouble they can't get out of.

They better be back soon, in any case, Jake said. We're not hanging around here much longer. It's already way past nightfall – probably even past midnight.

Jeanne, Santorelli, and Marco all stared at him, quizzically and warily, as if he'd gone mad. KEdi'I, who understood thought-speech even if he didn't understand English, leaned his head to the side, watching Jake with amusedly glittering black eyes.

Ehm… Jake? Jeanne said softly.

Yes?

The sun went up about half an hour ago. Didn't you notice?

Jake glanced up at the sky. The glance quickly turned into a glare, almost as if he wondered how dawn _dared arrive without informing him in advance. Oh, was all he said, and he sounded like he was reprimanding himself a bit – for a change, Jeanne thought. It has._

Marco and Santorelli exchanged a glance. "You think he might at least have noticed that he's morphed and demorphed five times…" Santorelli muttered.

Marco nodded his agreement, grinning. But it seems our Fearless Leader is… preoccupied. Let's just hope he's not _too preoccupied. He might not notice if we're attacked, either. And that would be… unpleasant._

I heard that, Jake warned.

Good, Marco said. Attentiveness is good.

Jake wished he'd been human so he could have rolled his eyes. Tiger eyes were simply not made for rolling.

Despite a sudden increase in security and guards everywhere, it didn't take Carali and Minalea long to get away from the _aristh quarters, and to the corridor leading back to the docking station where they had left the __Phantom. Carali wanted to reach the cruiser before Minalea had another crazy idea. There would not be a second War Prince Ailur to make her reconsider, and he wasn't sure he'd be able to hold her back._

It didn't take long, either, to realise that the corridor where the _Phantom waited was filled with Controllers._

Luckily, Minalea had heard them before the two had barged right into them. But even though they avoided discovery by stopping near the turn of the corridor instead of entering it, it didn't help them get any closer to their cruiser.

What now? Minalea wondered.

You're asking me? Carali replied, exasperated at the entire situation. How am I supposed to know? He narrowly avoided slamming a back hoof against the floor in frustration. I've never done this before. This was _not part of basic training!_

The other _aristh__ ignored him. Instead, she sent a private call out over the ship; Olana? Larynia?_

Minalea! the reply came, not from Olana, but from Larynia. Why are you in thought-speech range? Aren't you at the _Phantom?_

I am trying to get back there, but this ship's crew isn't being very cooperative.

What did you do this time? came Estrid's strongly disapproving voice.

Doesn't matter, Larynia said. Minalea; listen. Are you alone?

No. With Carali.

Good, Larynia said, sounding relieved.

_Good?_

Hush. At least he knows how to use a tail. Listen. This ship is full of –

Yeerks, we know.

YEERKS? cried both Larynia and Estrid.

Minalea saw Carali flinch from the sudden outcry and realised he had heard the last parts of the conversation as well. Fair enough: he was on their side, after all. She hoped.

Don't tell me there's something else, too, she whined. Slugs are bad enough. Besides, what else _can there be? Kelbird?_

None that we've seen, Estrid assured her. We thought they were simply traitors, but _Controllers… Anyway, we found something else. And I think he's a little worse than any Kelbrid could ever be._

What do you mean? Carali demanded.

We'll explain later, Larynia promised. Minalea, location?

Minalea grumbled a sentence describing where she and Carali were hiding.

Sounding very cheerful, Minalea, Carali commented privately. She honoured him with a stalk-glare.

Don't go anywhere, Estrid ordered. We'll be right there.

Go anywhere? Carali repeated sourly, expanding his voice beyond just Minalea. Where's to go? Nothing but Controllers in every direction.

He realised his mistake just in time to let his eyes grow wide.

Excellent analysis of the situation, _aristh, sneered a voice. Next time, remember to use private thought-speech._

Carali and Minalea both heard the hurried mass of hoof steps that followed, coming closer from beyond the turn into the corridor where the _Phantom waited._

You _idiot! Minalea exclaimed. What did you do that for?_

Carali just stared at her, himself wondering the same thing, but then turned his gaze towards the Andalites who were daintily stepping out of the docking stations' corridor.

Minalea danced away from them, stalks swivelling madly and main eyes darting from one to the other and back again. She seemed to be wondering if she should turn and run. Carali – on the other hand – drew a deep breath, arched his tail up and planted his hooves more firmly on the floor.

Don't complain, he gritted back at the other _aristh. You did the same thing before – when War Prince Ailur heard us._

Minalea had already forgotten that. Larynia? she called. Estrid? You better not come down here. We have attracted some trouble.

Then you might need our help, Estrid reasoned. Try not to go too far away from where you are, and we'll be there as soon as possible. Do something – stall them.

We need to pass that 'trouble' in any case to reach the _Phantom, right? Larynia added._

Unfortunately, yes, Carali said, this time making sure that his thought-speech voice reached only Minalea, Larynia and Estrid. Children and youngsters usually just blurted out what they had to say for everyone to hear. It was a habit that was hard to break – but that kind of mistake should not be allowed to happen. It was… embarrassing… that it had.

I am FO Jarathur, said the Controller who first had spoken. His stalks twinkled with amusement. More or less, that is.

Oh, wonderful, Minalea muttered privately. This one thinks he's _funny._

The Controller watched the two _arisths with evaluating main eyes, like someone watching livestock at an auction. I believe I spoke to you two before. Perhaps allowing you to dock was not such a bad idea after all – of course, now you cannot possibly be allowed to leave._

You are in no position to give us orders, filthy Yeerk, Carali replied haughtily – at least, with more haughtiness than courage.

The FO laughed. Of course not. But, _arisths, I must say; __you are in no position to defy me. Now there are two ways to do this; the easy way, or the hard way. Both ways involve coming with me…_

Not a chance! Carali spat.

Not a _choice, the infested FO corrected. A gesture from his hand and the warriors around him advanced, starting to form a circle around the two __arisths._

Minalea took that as her signal to turn and run, but Carali stopped her with a sharp _No. They'd only be chased down and knocked out – probably with shredders – and that would not help them. Besides, Estrid had told them to stay put. Still, he was surprised when Minalea actually listened to him and stayed._

Ten, she said, and instead of looking like she wanted to flee, she looked like she wanted to shrink away. Ten of them.

Instead of playing with arithmetics, Minalea, please figure out how to deal with them!

Minalea forced a nervous laugh. These are Controllers, Carali. _You deal with them._

Thank you for that little token of trust, he said dryly.

Jarathur glared at them. Have you made your decision? I am weary, and I wish to see your infestation over and done with. But before that, we have some very interesting… _plans… for __you. He gave Minalea a greedy look._

As any female, Minalea recognized that look when she saw it. She went a deadly pale colour, eyes wide, her tail dropping down from attack, and she took a hurried step back. Then she remembered the Controllers behind her and leapt forwards again. She spun around, trying to keep her main eyes on everything at once – forgetting that that was what her stalks were for.

Don't listen to him, Minalea, Carali told her lowly, careful to keep his own voice level. Don't listen to him. He's only trying to unbalance you.

Well, he's succeeding, Minalea whispered.

Carali spared a glance at her, took a step closer and took her hand. He had to clench it hard to make her come to her senses and calm down enough to stand still. Carali kept one stalk watching her. Don't worry. I won't let –

Ah, how sweet, sneered the FO. Think you'll be able to protect her, do you? Don't bother – you'll be on our side before much longer. In fact, what are we waiting for? Fellow Yeerks, would you –

They're waiting for us! Larynia cried from behind them. She and Estrid were approaching at a gallop, tails held high.

About time! Minalea snapped nervously.

Carali, Minalea, storm straight through them, Estrid instructed. If we stay and fight we lose. Ten against four is not a winning battle – not for us, that is.

And there was no time to debate it, for by then the two had reached the circle of Controllers and were met by fiercely flashing tails. The world erupted into striking blades and thought-speech battle-cries.

Estrid blocked the first swipe, ducked the second and feinted a blow at an opponent's head. He drew back to keep clear of it, and she leapt past him and right into the circle.

Hello, Carali said, himself busy with keeping the worst swipes away. How kind of you to join us.

The infested FO had raised his eyebrows at Estrid's manoeuvre, but now he did not hesitate to attack. He aimed first at Minalea, thinking she would be the easiest target, but she was quicker than expected, anticipating his move and getting out of his way. That she didn't attempt to strike back was probably just as well. She did, however, drop and roll right at the FO – who barely avoided her – and then got back to her feet in a fluent motion outside the circle of Controllers. Two turned towards her.

Two tails flashed. Minalea somehow managed to block the first, and the other was swept out of the way by Estrid, who also had made her way past the Controllers. The scientist proceeded in demonstrating exactly how much having Ajaht-Litsom-Esth as a brother would improve your tail-skills. The first warrior's face mirrored his surprise as Estrid's blade flat-sided his head and he staggered towards the wall. The second was more careful, but once Estrid had forced him into defensive fighting, she intended for him to stay there, and was quick and agile enough to make sure he did. When she stopped her attacking, pulling back, the warrior saw the opening and at once, eagerly, followed – not seeing that her tail was still ready to strike. That Controller met the same fate as his friend.

By then, Carali and Larynia had cleared the circle and as soon as they had, Larynia swept a glance through the corridor. Nothing stood between them and the docking station where the _Phantom waited. Nothing, except for two guards by the door who were watching them intently but not leaving their posts – probably as they had been ordered._

It would not do to just stand around. Even though they were no longer surrounded, both Carali and Estrid were working hard on keeping the Controllers from encircling them again. That the corridor was too wide to be defended by only four, and there were no bends they could use as an advantage, made things even harder.

The objective was to reach the _Phantom._

Time to go, Larynia ordered. Last one to the _Phantom is the first one they capture. So move!_

Carali scowled, about to protest – on the principle of not ever agreeing with Larynia, if on nothing else – but knew that the other _aristh was right. When the three females turned to flee he did the same. He heard – and was slightly unsettled – by the enraged outcries of the Andalite-Controllers and the mass of hoof beats that pursued them, barely a tail's length behind._

All he could do was to run even faster and hope for the best.

Menderash's mind seemed to be drowned in mist. He was only dimly aware of his surroundings, only dimly aware that he had been left on the floor in a large room. The familiar but despised stench of a Yeerk pool was irritating his nostrils, coming from somewhere to his right, but he did not have the energy to worry about that at the moment.

His eyes were open. More or less. At least, open enough to know that feet – both human, Kelbird, Hork-Bajir and Taxxon – had been passing in front of him now and then, seemingly ignoring him. But even in his dazed state he knew better: they were guarding him, not ignoring him.

It took him longer than it should have to come back to his senses. An analytic part of his mind at once realised why; loss of blood. He was still bleeding from the cut that crossed over his chest, shoulder and arm. Had been bleeding for… how long? An hour? Less? Or more? He didn't even want to know.

But the rest of him, led by his ever-present pride, cursed himself repeatedly. How dare he just lie there, letting his weaknesses get the better of him?! How dare he not try to fight, try to break free, try to leave?

He was aching all over; especially in his arm, which was throbbing with pain. He could hardly keep his eyes open, scarcely move his head. Breathing was a constant agony. How was he supposed to flee? No; better to stay, save his strength – what remained of it. Better to wait. Patience always brought its reward.

It was terribly ironic, he thought, almost making himself smile. In his present state they would not be in a hurry to infest him. He was too badly wounded. On the other hand, being that wounded was not exactly advantageous.

He had been lying there for some time when he suddenly _felt the tension in the room change. The footsteps around him grew more hurried, and the general atmosphere seemed very nervous. He soon found out why, too; the One had arrived._

He saw four dainty Andalite hooves in front of his face, and felt more than saw the green gaze of the two-dimensional creature.

The presence, the mental awareness, was immense. He suddenly understood better why the Yeerks and Kelbrid Touched were fearful. There was a growing sensation in the back of his mind, coming from the One, which told him; _you are nothing. You are worthless. You are a bug, an insect, even less than so, and you shall be crushed the moment__ you are no longer amusing._

He forced his head to turn up towards the being. 

"To your feet, Menderash-Postill-Fastill," sneered the One. Menderash recognized his Captain's voice, but not the tone. Captain-Prince Aximili had never _sneered. Civilians sneered. It was below a warrior's dignity to sneer – except at special occasions, of course._

Without knowing how he found the strength, Menderash complied, climbing steadily but with difficulty to his feet. His knees almost folded under him again, but he clenched his jaws and stayed up by pure power of will.

What do you want?

"I want what is mine," the One replied, his stolen Andalite eyes boring into Menderash as if trying to read his thoughts _through his forehead. "I want…" a wicked smile. "Alas, the curse of ambition. For the question is not what I __want. The question, First Officer, is what I __do not want."_

Menderash stared blankly back at him, swaying, focusing on staying upright. His hand was clutched around his wounded shoulder, fingers digging into it as if to dig out the agony, but at the same time managing to multiply it. If his fingers were removed, he thought, perhaps there would be a moment's relief when the pain lessened.

The creature continued speaking, using the mouth that besmirched the Andalite features of his face. "But to begin with, I would settle for your home world, your people, the planet called Earth… and of course the humans. From there I can advance further."

Menderash was silent. He might not be able to fight, but – by every oath taken throughout his visit at the Academy – he would be of no help, either.

"I am already on my way to acquire the first two, as you probably know. The second two… I need a key, a way in. And I know just where to find it. I have already claimed it. All I have to do, is to… obtain it. Do you know of what – of _whom – I speak, __nothlit?"_

Menderash felt an urge to answer. He fought it away, but it only grew in strength, beating his weakened mind and even his pride back. He realised he'd been defeated, and shook his head.

The One's eyes glowed a mad green. "The human – the Animorph. Jake. The latest addition to my personal collection – that is, your Prince-Captain – has unwillingly informed me of how important, influential, that human is on his home planet. I'll have his cooperation, voluntary or not, and then I shall have Earth."

My Captain would never cooperate, Menderash informed him.

The One sparkled with anger. He swelled, growing, but forced himself down in size again. He expanded into three dimensions. "Then, Menderash, you will have to help me convince him. Or, you shall tell me something that will. For even though Aximili has told me his greatest weakness, the information is at present useless to me."

Menderash was silent, battling the force that urged him to do as he was told. The weight of it almost forced him down to his knees. He gasped for air and dug even more sharply into the wound on his arm, hoping the pain would distract him.

It did – but too much. He cried out, eyes closed, and fell from his feet and to the ground, writhing back and forth. His mind was almost crushed under the One's will, and his body was torn by constant agony, which he himself had just increased. When he regained awareness of his surroundings, the force of the One's will had faded. He tried to calm his raspy breathing, tried to disregard the agony in his arm and tried to avoid beginning to sob. He would not sob. Children sobbed. Not warriors – and definitely not First Officers.

"Get up," growled the One suddenly. "Get up! If you will not obey me, you shall fight me – and then, obey."

Menderash couldn't have risen even if he had wanted to.

The One lashed out with Prince Aximili's tail and the flat of the blade struck Menderash and sent him helplessly rolling away.

"What's the matter, Andalite, can't you even defend yourself?" he taunted. "On your feet, if you call yourself a warrior, and fight me!"

His stolen tail struck again and Menderash pulled together into a ball, wondering if he had ever felt so nauseous in his entire life. He dragged himself along the floor, using his healthy arm, but his vision was so blurred he was not sure which way he was crawling. He hoped it was away.

Even though it was, the One followed easily, pranced closer, tail cocked, and Menderash saw him prepare another strike, in an almost lazy manner.

"What would the warriors say if they saw you now, First Officer?" His tail whipped at Menderash's unprotected side, making him gasp for breath and roll away further. "First Officer indeed! More of a whining little child! But you shall show them all, is that not so? You shall show them all! You shall show them that not even becoming a _nothlit_ can stop the powerful First Officer of the mighty _Intrepid!_

"So on your feet! Fight me!"

Menderash pulled himself away again, hating himself more for each centimetre. His pride was at him again, scolding him fiercely. Why did he not attack? This… this One… was right. How could he, an officer of the Andalite fleet – a First Officer, under the command of the legendary Prince Aximili himself – cower in fear before his enemies, when he should stand tall and seek a way to destroy them?

His wounds, his… his loss of blood and –

_No. His pride told him that that was the human mind speaking. No Andalite mind worked that way. No Andalite warrior would ever cower like that. His pride, and he himself, hated the human mind. He hated himself for not overpowering the human mind, and standing up to face his enemy._

His enemy was coming closer, on light, fleet Andalite hooves, moving with the deadly grace of an Andalite warrior, watching him with Andalite eyes and holding his Andalite tail proudly cocked behind him, ready to issue the killing strike.

Menderash overpowered his weakness and pushed himself upright to meet that strike. He might have acted weakly, but there was no way he was going to die weakly, cringing in fear. He would die proudly. He would die with defiance sparkling in his eyes, turned up to meet the blade that would end his life.

But the strike never came. The One stopped half a step in front of him, so close that he could reach out and touch him without even straightening his arm. He felt the creature's shining, green gaze, felt the green glow burn at his face, and felt himself beginning to tremble from the tightness in his muscles and the fear he wished he did not feel – the fear he should not feel.

The One glanced him over and then lowered his tail, swivelling away from Menderash as if in disgust.

"You're a coward, Menderash," he spat. "A coward and a fool. You're a slow, weak, sentimental wretch, and I pity you, because you are just like the humans you despise!"

He froze, halfway through a movement, as if hit by a thought. He spun around, was suddenly straight in front of Menderash again, and he leaned in even closer, his pupils shining a mad – and somehow tempting – green. "But I hold the power to change that. I hold the power to turn you into what you once were… proud, daring, strong, and…" his voice sank to a spellbinding whisper "…Andalite."

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Author's Note;

That's it, now I'll be gone for four weeks. Write a review – plenty of time for that – and I'll get the next part up as soon as possible… after I come back home, that is.

Oh, and here comes a jumble of Completely Useless Information I Don't Know Why I'm Posting (I Suppose I'm Bored).

I was getting confused over all my little scribbles and notes on characters, so I read through what I have so far of the story, listed and categorized all the characters, and came up with a total of 73 – five of which are only _mentioned but not properly __met. 1 is an android (you'll never guess who…).  1 is a Hork-Bajir – Toby, of course. 1 is a kii-raja (I added him for sentimental reasons; that is, Rachel would have my head bitten off if I didn't add him, and I'm very fond of my head exactly where it is, thank you very much). 2 are __nothlits, both in major parts. 3 are Yeerks. 4 are unknown (hint; Crayak). 9 are Kelbird, with 5 in major parts. 14 are human, with 8 in major parts (my excuse for so few is that it is hard to find some way to place __humans so far out in space…).  And finally, 38 (!!!) are Andalites (so I like the arrogant bastards. They make excellent characters for internal conflicts *see above*. Besides, only 13 of them have major parts). And that's the ones that are named. How many "the Hork-Bajir" or "that Kelbrid" or "the Controller" I have, I don't even want to know._

That's all the Completely Useless (and so on) for today.


	29. How to escape a ship

How to escape a ship

Sub-Visser! a voice called from outside. We are under attack!

Aralgo could still see out the window from where he stood, and now bore witness to Carali, Larynia, Minalea and Estrid storming into the docking station, slamming closed and locking the doors behind them. Carali and Estrid were held back by the two warriors Olana had brought and left outside the _Phantom, and Larynia turned back to help them, but Minalea continued towards the __Phantom's door. Seeing how they fought the Controller warriors made Aralgo certain that they themselves were not Controllers._

That, at least, was a relief.

Olana at first seemed confused, the Yeerk in her head indecisive, but then regained a stern, annoyed expression and snapped; Computer! Close door!

The door slammed shut – but Minalea, quick and nimble as always, had just managed to pass it. She gave her friend a strange look. Olana, what –

The Controller continued without even pausing; Construct force field cage on location –

Minalea, watch out! Aralgo warned, but unnecessarily.

Minalea's eyes had widened in sudden understanding as she took in the scene and what Olana was saying. With a loud curse, she threw herself away from where she had been standing and down to the floor, rolling over her side. She got to her hooves, momentum carrying her purposefully right into Olana – who wasn't quick enough to get out of her way in time. They both tumbled, Minalea springing up more easily and more quickly than her infested friend.

Don't think that's the first time someone tries to trap me in a force field, Minalea spat. But her voice held a taint of strained sadness. She had the end of Olana's tail secured under a front hoof. The infested _aristh was still on the floor, unmoving because of the blade at her throat._

And Olana's hateful glare at Minalea was almost as sharp as that blade.

Yeerk, I presume, Minalea said in a carefully controlled voice.

Very perceptive, Olana congratulated nonchalantly. She sounded almost bored. Yes, I am a Yeerk. Tarst 1462, Sub-Visser 17. You, on the other hand, are only _aristh Mina–_

I know who I am, Minalea snarled. So hush. She turned a stalk towards the computer and directed her voice there. Computer, open door.

There was no response except the wickedly amused twinkle in Olana's stalks.

She's reprogrammed the ship, Aralgo informed Minalea in a low voice. It only listens to her.

Minalea let out a few choice curses, before turning back towards Olana. Open that door, she ordered.

Olana simply smiled innocently. Why?

Minalea seemed lost. Her stalks swept around to look out the window; the two guards Tarst 1469 had brought were both unconscious. Larynia was standing close to the ship, but Carali and Estrid were by the entrance to the docking station, and even over that distance their worry was easily seen. Minalea thought at once about their pursuers, and the infested FO Jarathur, and knew why. If the door out to the corridor opened too soon… there'd be trouble. The docking station and the _Phantom, their refuge, would turn into a dead-end trap._

Minalea! Larynia called. Let us in, and quickly!

I wish I could, Minalea replied. But Olana has taken over the ship. It ignores the rest of us completely!

Then tell Olana to open the door!

She's not cooperating either. She is… Minalea took a deep breath. I believe she is a Controller. At least she claims so. And behaves so.

Stunned silence from outside. Then; So threaten her.

I'm not much good at threats, Larynia, you know that.

Well, now is an excellent opportunity to learn! Larynia snarled.

Where is Aralgo? Estrid asked.

In here, Aralgo told her, deciding he could speak for himself. In a force field cage. The computer does not listen to orders from inside a force field cage, not even if Olana hadn't been dumb enough to add a program allowing her to –

There must be a backup, Larynia interrupted. Olana always has backups. If something backfires. _Always. Minalea, isn't that so?_

Olana puts a backup in anything she programs, Minalea agreed. She looked down at her friend, who didn't even shift expression, the Yeerk refusing to betray any thoughts or emotions about what was being said.

If there is a backup, then find it, and quickly! came Carali's urgent suggestion. They are close to opening these doors, and if they do we will have a problem! Or, more properly, a good dozen of them.

Computer, shift command to all registered crewmembers, Minalea ordered.

Nothing happened.

Try it manually, Aralgo suggested, pacing his small cage as his tail whipped behind him and his eyes darted between the docking station outside, the computer consoles, and the two female _arisths._

Minalea bullied Olana up on her hooves and made her come along to the consoles, keeping both stalks on the Controller's tail and her blade still at the Controller's throat. She focused her main eyes on the consoles and placed her right hand on a control pad.

This is _aristh Minalea-Silinan-Alareim, she announced. Shift command to all registered crew members._

"_Access denied"__ flashed on a hologram above her hand._

Ah, Olana leered. The marvels of technology.

Shut up, Yeerk, Aralgo growled. Your fun is over.

That from someone inside a force field cage! Minalea laughed, as if forgetting which side she was supposed to be on. Aralgo glared irritably at her, but she only looked back calmly, amused, and leaned her head to the side, eyes shining. It fits you. Why didn't I ever think of it?

Oh no, Carali sighed from outside the ship. Add "sudden force field cages" to Minalea's list of pranks. And I thought the rapidly closing doors were bad.

Could we _PLEASE focus? Larynia wondered, her voice dangerously sweet._

Right, Minalea agreed and again turned to the control pad. Computer; open door.

"_Access denied"__ flashed again._

Olana laughed, and said; Let me show you something. Computer, name all authorized commanders.

A list – a hologram – appeared. It had one, single name; Olana's.

Minalea looked frustrated. Without warning, she swivelled around and kicked at the console with a back hoof, crying; But Olana's been _infested, you stupid computer!_

The holographic list disappeared. Another appeared in its place, and it simply said; "_Code accepted. Command redirected".___

Olana had turned just a bit pale, her shoulders slumped down just enough to give her a slightly defeated appearance.

Minalea glared suspiciously at her infested friend, and turned back to the console still wearing that suspicious look. Computer, open door, she tried.

The door opened without question. A sceptic Larynia entered, her stalks sweeping over the scene. She beckoned for Estrid and Carali to follow.

Minalea? Aralgo said amiably. Would you care to let me out?

Truthfully… no, Minalea responded, her eyes sparkling mischievously, her usual playful mood returning with the control of the ship.

Let me out!

Carali gave Minalea a reprimanding look, and then said; Computer, remove force field around location C5.

Nothing happened. A slow smile appeared in Minalea's eyes. I think command was reverted to _me… The smile broadened. Computer, construct force –_

_Minalea! Carali protested, taking a quick step back in order to be somewhere else._

Minalea only laughed.

Fix the list of authorized commanders back to normal, Minalea, Larynia said.

Minalea grimaced. You're no fun. Not one of you. Very well – computer, _arisths Aralgo-Karfur-Emonrili, Carali-Sarthantir-Malar and Larynia-Talene-Sirinial are authorized for command, as well as scientist Estrid-Corill-Darrath._

Remove force field at location C5, was Carali's first command, and to his relief the computer obeyed.

The force field fell away, and the second person to be relieved was Aralgo. He joined Minalea by the consoles, keeping a careful eye on the glowering Olana.

Estrid turned to close the door out to the docking station, feeling much safer once it was done.

Well then, Carali said. I believe we are done here. Time to leave – and the sooner, the better, I should say.

I couldn't agree more, Carali, Larynia murmured. She glanced down at Olana. _That is not supposed to happen. And I want to be long gone by the time someone schedules a rerun._

You can't leave, Olana informed them haughtily. Do you truly think they will open those doors and allow you to launch? You are even dumber than –

In a flash Larynia was by the Controller, had swept a clumsily shielding tail away and used her own blade, placed just below Olana's chin, to press the Controller back against the wall.

You can shut up, Yeerk, she hissed. To begin with. And moreover, you _are going to come out of my friend's head. __NOW._

And if I refuse? the Yeerk wondered, unimpressed.

Larynia's face was as motionless as if it had been set in stone.

What are you going to do? taunted the Controller. Cut poor Olana's throat? No. No, no no, I don't think so. You wouldn't do that.

There was a slight flash of bitterness in Larynia's eyes that proved the Yeerk correct. Carali noted it, and gently pushed Larynia aside, replacing her blade with his own.

She wouldn't, perhaps, he said lowly, ignoring Larynia's glare. But I _would. You were given an order, Yeerk. Follow it._

So you can cut me apart and do a happy little dance of joy that your friend is 'freed'? the Controller replied acidly. Not likely. No, I'd rather stay in here, listening to your friend's broken weeping, and wait for my fellow Yeerks to show up. Because they _will._

Not if we're no longer here, Estrid said, speaking up after having been silent.

You're not going anywhere, snarled the Yeerk, but without letting Olana's eyes leave Carali's acidic expression. Not one of you.

You still have a head to leave, Carali reminded the Controller. And I shall, as a gesture of good will, give you to the count of ten to do so. Only after that I'll resort to _cutting you out._

How kind, Olana murmured.

Ten, Carali began.

Count as much as you like. I'm not going anywhere.

Carali's blade quivered, something steely came into his eyes and his voice was lowered as he continued; Nine.

Carali, are you serious? Minalea asked, sending her thought-speech to everyone except Olana.

Of course I'm serious, he replied, in open thought-speech. Eight.

You'll… _cut her throat? Minalea wondered._

I'll do what I have to. _Seven._

Minalea and Larynia exchanged a glance, and Estrid frowned slightly. Aralgo didn't move, but his stalks flickered concern. Larynia spoke; You can't do that, Carali.

Six, Carali said, and then demanded; Why not? What else did you have in mind? Leave her behind? Leave her for _them?_

Take her with us.

Five, Carali counted. And how do you suppose to do that, with that Yeerk? We can't bring a _Controller with us! We can't. She'd be a liability… a problem, and a danger. Especially since she can so easily turn the entire ship against us!_

We would guard her carefully, Larynia said.

It would only be for three days, Minalea added.

Four, Carali said firmly.

Olana's expression had, while Carali spoke, very quickly gone from humoured to unsettled. The Yeerk didn't dare try to break away, but he didn't seem so sure of himself any more, and the uncertainty broke through to his host's face.

You can't be serious, Larynia stated. You can't cut her throat.

Carali, think, Minalea began. Exactly –

Three. You better come out now, Yeerk.

You _can't! Larynia roared._

Two. Only one more to –

But before Carali had a chance to even finish the thought, Larynia had darted forward and her tail arched down towards him. Minalea came from the other direction, and Carali had to pull back and duck. Aralgo dove forwards to help him so quickly that one could suspect that he had just been waiting for something like that to happen.

And suddenly Olana was unguarded. She quickly moved for the door. Carali, Estrid couldn't stop the Controller for Aralgo, Minalea and Larynia were in her way. So Olana placed her hand on the lock pad, looking very pleased, and gave the order to open the door.

It was a gloomy group that was found by Rachel and Tobias later that morning.

Jake had begun worrying, and as he looked up and saw them coming, he let out a sigh of relief. "Finally." He was human for the moment. KEdi'ir was still on a branch above him, but he only acknowledged Rachel's presence by touching his left shoulder with his right hand and then went back to keeping watch.

"We were delayed," Rachel explained (and repeated it in Kelbrid for KEdi'ir's benefit). She'd been riding on Tobias's Andalite back again, finding that a comforting way to travel compared to walking, but now returned to the ground and her own two feet so he could demorph.

By each other, or someone else? Marco questioned, grinning a gorilla grin.

"None of your business, Marco," Rachel snapped. 

What, can't I even _ask?_

"Not if you're fond of being _able to ask," she said, and patted Tom's neck as he came up to her side; he had done some scouting._

But I was just –

"I advice you to be quiet, Marco," Jeanne murmured from beside him.

I was just _wondering, Marco complained._

"Wondering can be bad for your health," Jeanne pointed out.

Hey, I happen to be _a gorilla, Marco informed her. There is very little that could actually be __bad for my hea – But he stopped speaking there, turning a suspicious head and two narrowed eyes towards Rachel, who was nonchalantly drumming her fingers against Tom's back. The beast was glaring at Marco. The gorilla looked back towards Jeanne. Maybe I should be quiet now._

"Maybe you should," Jeanne agreed.

"So what did delay you?" Jake asked.

Kelbrid, Tobias replied.

"They had a kii-raja, to keep Tom busy, so they were even more annoying than usual," Rachel added.

Tom bore the marks of that encounter. Jake was decently sure the kii-raja had never been actually wounded by their encounters with Kelbrid or Hork-Bajir, but now one ear was bleeding, he had teeth marks over his left shoulder and front leg, and three parallel cuts stretched across his face. He also seemed to be limping.

"Oh, the poor little _darling," Jeanne murmured, closing in on the kii-raja to examine the hurts. Marco rolled his eyes._

"Menderash's missing," Jake announced.

"But he went with Jeanne, and she's here," Rachel said, frowning. "What happened?"

She decided to leave him behind, Marco informed her amiably.

Whatever for? Tobias wondered. I know he isn't the best of company, but…

"Didn't want to risk him collapsing, to begin with," Jeanne explained, scratching Tom's throat and regarding the way the kii-raja stretched his head up and back for her to reach more easily. "And I thought that if there were Touched here and we'd have to turn and run, he'd slow us down, so it was better to leave him somewhere until I'd investigated if it was safe. When we went to fetch him he was gone."

Tobias fluttered up to a branch. Any ideas where he might have gone?

Jake sighed, spreading his arms wide. Then turned to Rachel. "You said the Touched were more likely to kill us on sight and ask questions later, right?"

Rachel nodded, but warily.

"So if the Touched had found him, we'd have found his body. Correct?"

Rachel nodded again. "But the Kelbrid have taken more and more to capturing live prisoners since the Yeerks showed up," she said. "No live _Kelbrid prisoners, but now and again a __garek__ – a non-Kelbird – will show up, and those might be captured alive and given to the Yeerks."_

"That still means he's on the Blade ship."

The Blade ship might be a hard target, Santorelli pointed out.

It _was the target from the beginning, though, Marco reminded them. We're still after a way to help Ax – even if that's been momentarily forgotten in all our failed attempts to steal our ship back. Lovely prioritizing we've done, don't you agree?_

"Maybe it would be easier now," Rachel said thoughtfully.

How? Tobias asked.

"Melissa."

Ehm, Rachel? Marco said, sounding grave.

"Yes?"

The battle back there. The holographic ship – the fake _Rachel. That was all a carefully set trap. My guess; Melissa was behind it._

"No," Rachel disagreed. "No, that –"

Face facts, Rach; he might be right, Tobias murmured softly from up on his perch. The faces of the others ranged from grim to sympathetic.

But Rachel shook her head fiercely. "No. No, not at all. If Melissa'd been behind that, they'd have had kii-rajas. Melissa knows about Tom. She's smart enough to have told them, and they'd have been ready for a kii-raja. They weren't."

"Doesn't prove anything…" Jeanne muttered. Tom had again abandoned her to return to Rachel, who was now stroking his back and tail.

"They knew we went after the _Rachel before," Rachel said. "They probably just figured we'd try it again."_

But standing around here won't help Menderash, Santorelli cut in. We need to do something. Rachel? Can your kii-raja track him?

Rachel shrugged. "Perhaps. With all the rain that's fallen, I'm not so sure – but perhaps."

Probably a waste of time anyway, Marco commented. We'd only be led to the Blade ship. Infiltrating that takes time, effort and a whole lot of guts. And he added brightly; We've got everything we need except time.

"Then where've you stashed the guts?" Jeanne asked.

I'm saving them for a special occasion.

Jake gave his friend a reprimanding glance, and Marco made a face. Jake had completely lost his sense of humour.

So what do we end up doing? Santorelli wondered softly.

Jake's expression twisted into a grimace and he clenched and unclenched his hands at his sides. "What can we do?"

"Infiltrate the Blade ship," Rachel suggested eagerly.

"Or blow it up," Jeanne offered, eyes glittering.

Jeanne? The objective is to _free Menderash and Ax. Not send them to an early grave, Marco explained with fake patience._

"You blew up the Yeerk pool," Jeanne reminded him.

So we did. But we had a good reason. A good plan. And lots of spare explosives.

"But –"

Did I mention the need for explosives? A good plan? And besides, we're kinda out of subways.

Jake shook his head. "There's one thing we need to do before that. Report back to Sira'aki and JaLa'an. Return KEdi'ir. See if LuRi'il and _Arnaha can be of any help. Plus, with Menderash caught, we need to move camp – and probably the fighters, too. Marco? You know Menderash best."_

Marco grumped an inaudible response to that.

"They'll of course want to get out what's in his head. If they infest him, there's nothing anyone can do, but let's say they don't. The One is probably involved, so… they try to make him talk. How long would he be able to keep quiet?"

As long as he feels the need to, Marco grumbled. Jake, he's an Andalite warrior, from the Fleet, and although that makes him an arrogant bastard complete with all accessories, it also makes him very dutiful, very loyal. He won't say a word – too damn proud.

Everyone has their breaking point, Santorelli pointed out.

Ax's was – _is – his pride, Tobias said in a quiet voice. I wouldn't want to get between Ax and his pride. And he added wryly; Or Ax and his cinnabon, for that matter._

You know, Marco said, now that you mention it, I realise that the Visser must have known. He morphed human a few times. It's a wonder the Yeerks never tried to _bribe us into submission. With __ice cream or something._

Rachel actually laughed.

I mean, Ax would have fallen for it head-first, Marco continued. Wave a cinnabon in front of his nose and he'd have followed anyone straight into the pool itself. And I'd feel sorry for the one of us that had try to stop him.

"_Ky'y__ i'art yanu'uth'u siriv di'tas kii-raja kos lke'el cer," Rachel said happily._

Curious eyes turned towards her, some of them blinking in confusion. KEdi'ir, though, who had heard and understood both Tobias's and Marco's thought-speech and Rachel's words, was making that rumbling sound in his throat that might have been laughter.

Rachel seemed to blush for a moment, but it quickly disappeared. "Sorry. Forgot. It's just an expression the Kelbrid have – word for word, it means it's unwise to get between a kii-raja and his master. But it also means that you should be careful about where you try to intervene."

They all gave her more or less odd looks, but she ignored them all, scratching Tom's healthy ear as if to remind them that he was there.

Jake finally shook his head. "This is leading us nowhere," he stated, frustration appearing suddenly on his face. "We are returning to the Kelbird _now. Then we're… probably going to have to infiltrate the Blade ship."_

Jeanne and Rachel both broke into happy smiles. Marco rolled his eyes.

Olana gave the order for the door to open, but it refused.

Estrid had moved forwards by then and her tail flew towards the Controller's head. Olana tried to fend the blow off with her own blade, but failed, and slumped together, unconscious. The other _arisths were a jumble of flaying hooves, flashing tails and… and if they didn't come to their senses soon, something was bound to break. Estrid wasn't sure if it would be worse if a computer console broke, or one of the __arisths._

CEASE THAT IMMEDIATELY! she roared, with a tone a member of the War Council would have been proud of, STOP IT! BREAK IT UP! _NOW! The thoughts were projected so loudly it felt like a hammer to even her own head, and made her dizzy from the sharp pain._

Aralgo and Minalea backed off, warily glancing towards the scientist, but when Carali tried to back away Larynia followed. Estrid leapt in between the two. She received a furious stare from Larynia, and almost had a stalk severed by a tail-blade that had been aimed at Carali and stopped in the nick of time, but at least the younger female made no attempt to get past.

That was the most inept thing I've ever seen, said the scientist lowly.  Her eyes and stalks were blazing as she glared at Larynia, before turning the same infuriated stare towards Minalea, Aralgo and Carali. What were you thinking? She almost escaped. Lucky for us command is still set to us, but not Olana.

And suddenly you're taking the place of our superior, Larynia snarled back. Who appointed you to Prince?

Estrid felt her tail-blade quivering. I'm not a Prince, she said, but neither is any one of you. You're all _arisths, and from this, I'd say you're all incompetent. We're all in this mess together, whether we like it or not, and starting to fight amongst ourselves is the __last thing we should be doing._

Minalea glowered at Carali, at least as furious as Estrid. _He was going to cut her throat. No-one cuts the throat of one of __my friends and gets away with it._

Mine neither, Larynia added, staring defiantly back at the scientist while her stalks shot daggers at Carali.

It was only a ploy, Carali said lowly. He felt his shoulder, where Larynia's blade had cut off a decent bit of skin and flesh in an attempt to get at his head. He had a slash on his flank as well, although he wasn't sure who it was from. Then he grimaced, gave Minalea and Larynia an evaluating look each, and considered it safe to morph.

Minalea and Larynia stared at him.

_What? Minalea said finally._

A ploy, Carali repeated.

You were bluffing? Larynia asked.

Of course he was bluffing, Estrid snarled. He told me so. And it would have worked, too, if you two hadn't interrupted. Of all the senseless, incom –

You could have told us, Larynia said, ignoring Estrid.

A _kafit bird was slowly taking Carali's place. No. No, I needed real reactions. If I'd told you it was a ploy, Olana would have figured it out from the looks on your faces. And then it wouldn't have worked._

It didn't work now, either, Minalea countered.

How was I supposed to know you two would get so wound up? And once I'd started, I couldn't very well stop halfway, could I? And I couldn't tell you, because that would have shown on your faces as well.

Was it so hard to _guess? Minalea snapped._

Was it so hard to guess it was only an act? Carali snapped back. Or do you really think I'd be ruthless enough –

But that's what we're taught, Aralgo reminded them all lowly. Ruthlessness. According to the Law, Carali, you should have cut Olana's throat. And you've always been keen to follow the rulebook, everyone knows that.

I'm not sure I'd go quite that far, Carali protested, demorphing back to Andalite. If the Law told me to jump out an airlock, I'm not sure I'd do that, either.

I would, Minalea grinned, giving Carali a playful look that, together with a light touch on his shoulder, at once settled the peace between at least them. That is, if the Law told me _not to, I would._

That's because you're crazy, Aralgo said casually.

_Hey!_

But, Minalea, Larynia said softly, stalks twinkling with amusement. He's right.

He's _right? Oh, great. I'm just warning you, there'll be trip-wires everywhere to make you __both pay for that one…_

We are wasting time, Estrid reminded them, shifting her weight nervously from hoof to hoof. And unless we all want to end up like Olana, we've got no time to waste. Minalea? Aralgo? Can either of you pilot this ship? I'm not much of a pilot, and I'm not sure I understand this computer.

I am an expert at making ships bump into each other, Minalea admitted hesitantly. If that counts as 'piloting'…

I can fly it, Aralgo offered.

Good, Estrid said. Take command. All energy possible diverted to the engines. We are leaving.

The doors out into space are still closed, Carali mentioned.

Estrid gave him an unconcerned look. His expression switched to a partly horrified and partly surprised one, all four eyes going wide and his face tensing with realisation.

You're not serious, he breathed. _Through the doors?_

Estrid nodded. Larynia exchanged a glance with Aralgo, and Minalea let out a nervous laugh.

_Through? Carali repeated._

Yes, Estrid confirmed. Or do you have a better idea? If you do, hurry up and tell us.

Carali didn't. Aralgo had already taken his place by the consoles.

Actually, he said. _I have a better idea. Less energy to the engines, we can't fire them up properly in here anyway without risking engine damage – and a third of the ship burnt to dust. Not to mention what the hull will look like after impact with that door. The best way is to fire with both shredders at the door, while keeping our shields up to protect the ship, and then leave through the weakened metal. The door isn't made to take a direct hit from the inside. Especially not at this range._

Minalea blinked, almost looking downcast. I liked Estrid's idea more. I like the head-on, smash-to-pieces approach for this dilemma.

The only thing that would've been smashed to pieces is us, Aralgo muttered, focusing on his task. And the _Phantom. Even if we could – theoretically – fly through the doors, this docking station doesn't leave us the space we need to gather enough momentum, speed and power to do so. My way, the ship will not be damaged._

Then go ahead, Estrid said.

Everyone ready? Aralgo wondered, taking a deep breath.

They were, and Aralgo set his plan into motion. 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Author's Note;

Finally finished. Came home to a chapter I hadn't even _begun typing up from paper, and school that started all too soon (as it tends to do) so it took a while. Hope it was worth the wait. Next one will be up… later. Hm. I'm not back in the habit of spending half my time typing yet._

One more thing. In more ambitious moment during my vacation, drew picture of kii-raja. Drew it too small compared to Rachel (should be just a bit taller), but it'll have to do. Point is, that in proud-of-self-moment after coming back home, I also _scanned picture of kii-raja. So if anyone wants a peek at how the beast is actually supposed to look (the description in chapter 7 left a lot to be desired, I know) you could mail me, and I'll send it. Then you'll understand better why Marco is developing a healthy respect for the beast. (Of course, one needs to remember that Marco sees him in another way; glaring and snarling. But I can't draw glaring and snarling.)_


	30. How to starve a Yeerk

How to starve a Yeerk

We're being followed, Aralgo informed the other crewmembers as the _Phantom sped away from the __SwiftHoof. Actually, they had travelled some distance from the Yeerk-controlled ship, which now was crippled. Not destroyed, not ruined, but it had a decent-sized hole in its side where the smaller cruiser had made its exit. The hole was easily sealed, since the docking station was built to be easily sealed, but of course it affected mobility, speed – and Z-space travel._

That didn't stop them from sending emissaries, Aralgo noted as he focused on the screens. Andalite fighters. A dozen.

Certainly, Olana huffed from the floor by Estrid's hooves. She had obviously woken up.

Be quiet, Estrid said, moving her tail-blade down to be held at Olana's throat while the infested _aristh got back up to her hooves._

Well, what did you expect? the Yeerk said, challenging. Of course they'll –

Be _quiet!_

Maximum burn, Larynia snapped.

Already working on that, Aralgo answered.

Shouldn't we flee into Z-space? Estrid wondered.

No, Larynia said. They would only follow, and since velocity, speed, in Z-space is constant – everything in Z-space is constant – we wouldn't be able to outrun them.

We could, however, jump in and out to cause some confusion, Aralgo suggested. For we cannot outrun them here either; those fighters have better acceleration and better speed than we do.

We cannot outrun them, but we can out_last them, Carali countered. We can keep maximum burn for longer periods. But it will only help us if we are able to keep them at a distance long enough._

Maybe someone should man the weapons station, just in case, Larynia said.

I'll do that! Minalea offered eagerly, practically bouncing over to the station and grabbing the controls.

Maybe someone who doesn't treat it like a new toy… Carali muttered.

Larynia swiped at his head with the flat of her blade.

Hey! Carali cried, flinching back to avoid it. What did you do that for?

That's my friend you're talking about, Larynia reminded him pleasantly. Be nice.

You better do as she says, Aralgo snickered at Carali. That one makes 'be nice' sound like 'or else'.

_Aralgo__! Estrid barked in an adult's commanding tone._

Yes, scientist?

How about turning your attention back to steering this ship?

Aralgo grimaced. Of course, scientist. He did as he was asked. One Z-space jump, coming right up.

We have to come out of Z-space close to the fighters, Larynia instructed lowly, forehead lined in thought. And as soon as we do, Minalea, I want you to fire at one of them, and then, Aralgo, we jump back into Z-space. Do you think you'll manage that?

Nobody objected. At least not Minalea or Aralgo.

_Vanothil's__ manoeuvre, Carali muttered as the ship was surrounded by the endless nothing of Z-space. But that's supposed to be used against groups of __larger ships…_

The cruiser came out of Z-space very close to the fighters, but now behind them. Minalea stood, waiting, for once concentrated on her task with her fingers resting lightly on the controls to the _Phantom's twin dracon cannons. As soon as she had located the nearest fighter she aimed and fired._

Aralgo instantly sent the ship back into Z-space.

Did she hit anything? Estrid wondered. I didn't see.

Probably not – although it was a good shot, Carali said, glancing at Minalea with something similar to pride. Fighters are brilliant at evasive movements. It's what they're built for. That's why _Vanothil's__ manoeuvre is only used against larger ships. He glared at Larynia. Anyone who doesn't know __that is barely worthy of being called an __aristh. It's a gigantic blunder, and if they'd been expecting it they could easily have blasted us out of existence._

They didn't expect it, that's the point, Larynia murmured, ignoring his glare. It'll just make them underestimate us later on. For example… _now. Aralgo? Minalea? Do you know of __Temrir's__ Feint?_

Aralgo and Minalea exchanged a glance. Carali was suddenly smiling, realising what Larynia was thinking. Not a bad idea, he admitted. Not a bad idea at all.

Certainly, Larynia purred smugly. _Temrir's__ Feint was very similar to __Vanothil's__ Manoeuvre, with the exception of an extra Z-space twist and the twin shot instead of a simple one. The fighters would believe they were repeating __Vanothil's, which would turn __Temrir's__ into even more of a perfect trap than it already was._

Yes, a very good idea, Olana agreed and she was also smiling. I'd very much like to see you bunch of inexperienced, useless _arisths pull it off…_

_Shut up, five voices said in unison._

Seriously, continued the Yeerk, ignoring them. If Minalea can make that twin shot, and Aralgo can make the ship perform that set of turns, and they can even do it in harmony, then I might as well be magically cured of any need of Kandrona.

What part of 'shut up' did you not comprehend? Carali growled, spinning around to face the Controller.

What part of 'inexperienced, useless _arisths' do you need explained? Because it's true, proven correct when you actually believe I'm going to take orders from __you. You Andalite __irfach!_

Carali's face twisted with anger, he moved forwards, tail flying down towards Olana's face and stopping millimetres from her forehead. He moved it downwards, slowly, until it pressed against her throat. The pressure made Olana take a step back, her eyes growing wide.

Careful, Larynia warned privately. No cutting throats – or you'll find your own cut.

I'm sick of your comments, Yeerk, Carali said simply. He drew his blade away, swept it back towards Olana's head and struck her temple with just enough force to knock her unconscious again.

Larynia sent Carali a killing stare. He returned it defiantly.

One more insult and I fear throats _would have been cut, he explained._

At least you are wise enough to realise the need for a plural on that.

Carali decided to change the topic before it turned into too much of a debate. We should try _Temrir's__ Feint. Are you two up for it?_

The question was aimed at both Aralgo and Minalea, but it was Minalea's gaze Carali caught and held. Her eyes flickered in concern, knowing that it was not a simple task, but her opinion joined Aralgo's in declaring that they should at least try.

Jake, Tobias, Rachel and KEdi'ir headed back to the two Kelbird. Jake had sent Santorelli and Jeanne, under Marco's lead, to see if they could find any traces of Menderash. Jake needed Rachel to translate for the Kelbrid – but Tom had gone with Jeanne.

_That had taken time to arrange. Jeanne had asked if she could "borrow" the kii-raja (which had caused Marco to grimace) and Jake – who thought it a good idea – had told Rachel to let her._

Rachel had, at first, blankly refused. She did _not want to be separated from her constant companion, and had clutched tightly at one of his back-spikes, which only made the beast uncertain – and caused him to growl fiercely at everything that moved within two hundred paces. Rachel had tried to make him quiet down, but he had – for once – not listened._

Once Rachel had been convinced, there was the matter of the kii-raja himself. It had taken Rachel many valuable minutes to make Tom understand that he was _supposed to go with Jeanne. He was extremely unhappy about it, and while he took the few steps from Rachel and to Jeanne he kept turning his head, hoping to be called back – only to be met by a stern repetition of Rachel's order._

When the borrowing was finally accomplished Jake had been about ready to rip his hair out in frustration and tell them to forget it, never mind, bad idea; there wasn't time.

It was a most miserably kii-raja that had followed Jeanne when the trio finally left. She was still human, thinking that was for the best if she had Tom – and she needed her hands. For in the end she had been forced to grab Tom by the neck and try to _pull him along. That, and Rachel having the brilliant idea of telling the kii-raja to guard Jeanne, made the beast comply and follow the 'wrong' human._

While Tom was miserable, Rachel was in a horrid mood. Tobias was again Andalite, and she had a hand on his shoulder for guidance, striding along with quick, angry movements. Jake was in tiger morph ahead of them, flanked by an eager KEdi'ir.

When they arrived at camp, there was no sign of either packs or Kelbrid, and the rain had washed away eventual tracks. Tobias and Jake would have believed it deserted – but KEdi'ir and Rachel knew better.

KEdi'ir's eyes and ears at once turned upwards, and only a moment after that Sira'aki dropped down from a tree – almost startling Tobias and Jake – and landed nimbly on her feet. First, she turned to Rachel and slapped a hand against the opposite shoulder. Then she greeted KEdi'ir, visibly relieved and with enough motherliness to make the child look embarrassed.

By then JaLa'an had appeared as well. He was frowning as he spoke; "_Ru'un__ i'i kii-raja?"_

Rachel replied in the same language. JaLa'an shook his head, disapproving, and spoke again.

What did he say? Jake asked.

"He asked where Tom was. I told him Jeanne had borrowed him."

He didn't like that? 

"Jake. He thinks exactly what I think; one _does not 'borrow' kii-rajas. It is… unnatural."_

Why not? Tobias questioned. He was finding the break from Tom's golden glare relaxing. Why are you so against it? You don't mind sending him away otherwise.

"Because this time I've told him to go with someone else, and that's a whole different story. Kii-raja's aren't _pack animals, you see. They're __pair animals. In the wild, they lived in __pairs. One greater, one lesser – one dominant and one submissive. The greater ones did not go around 'lending' submissive kii-rajas. If they had, the lesser would have been terribly confused. As poor Tom will be."_

Then why did you allow it, Rachel? Jake wondered, hoping his cousin could let some steam out before she decided to explode in someone's face. Probably his.

"Because 'someone' told me to," Rachel spat, glaring lividly in Jake's general direction with her blindly staring eyes.

Jake swished his tail and turned to avoid that glare – and was for once glad Rachel was blind so she couldn't see it. He was also glad when she spun away.

Tobias was smiling, he noted suddenly, seeing the glint of amusement – and pride – in Tobias's eyes.

Easy for you to find it funny, Jake muttered.

He was not expecting an answer – Tobias rarely, if ever, addressed him – but for some reason he got one anyway; Yes, Tobias said, lowly, but not unkindly. Yes, it is. After a moment he added; She hasn't changed much, has she?

She hasn't, Jake agreed, watching his cousin stalk over to JaLa'an, who had brought a pack out of a tree. Now that Tom couldn't, Tobias was probably guiding her, Jake realised, feeling grateful towards him for that. He had not thought about Rachel's loss of guidance when he'd ordered the kii-raja off with Jeanne. He'd been preoccupied with the dilemma of the missing former Andalite.

When Jake's attention returned to the outside world, he saw that JaLa'an was inspecting the wound across Rachel's collarbone.

Oh, right. Rachel had been wounded earlier – he'd forgotten that too, and now he cursed himself for it. The wound had not been severe, but still; he couldn't allow himself be careless – he had to remember that Rachel couldn't morph like the rest of them. He felt a sharp jolt in his heart as he remembered what it had been like to lose his cousin the first time, reminding him that he did not want to do _that again._

Then again, he had been too involved in his plan, his cursed plan, and his blind ambition to stop the Yeerks – stop his brother Tom – to mourn much for Rachel or Tom those first few months. That had come later. That had come together with the doubts and self-loathing he suffered once it was all over. But still not… still, he had never grieved properly. Never allowed himself to.

Tobias, though, had grieved.

You must have missed her, Jake murmured, the tactless words out before he could stop them.

Tobias's face – and stalks – spun towards the tiger, eyes flashing in anger, and Jake understood; how dare _he, of all people, speak to Tobias about __that?_

Jake understood less when the anger dimmed down. Tobias turned back to watching Rachel, who was talking to JaLa'an while the Kelbrid washed her wound with something that – from the strain on her face – probably stung badly.

It was like having my heart torn out, Tobias told the Animorphs leader.

Jake nodded. I understand. I… I think I understand. To avoid another burst of anger from Tobias, he quickly added; I lost my brother, and my cousin. Not the same, I know, but I… can imagine what it would be like to lose the love of one's life.

Tobias was silent, but he gave the tiger a glance that made Jake turn away. There was a question in that glance, a question that had haunted Jake for all too long, and though the reply was the same as the question he had never been able to resolve it, not for himself or for _her._

Yes, _her._

For the question which had made Jake turn away was simply "_Cassie?"._

Tobias nodded knowingly to himself. He listened to Rachel as she talked to the Kelbrid, and watched her grimace as she moved the arm that had gone slightly stiff from the wound. He watched her and sent a silent prayer to whatever god would deign to listen; that he never, _ever, had to be separated from her again._

He demorphed and remorphed, as Jake did, while the Kelbrid retrieved the remaining packs from up in the trees and carelessly dropped them to the ground, letting them land with loud thumps.

Rachel called for him to help her, to be her eyes – although she naturally didn't use those exact words. She never asked for help. She'd only asked for help that final time on the Blade ship, just before… no. He shut the thought out, and instead focused on showing her, by thought-pictures, what was around them.

With Tobias helping her, Rachel tied two packs – Marco's and Jake's own – to Jake's tiger back. She used the straps to form a sort of harness. Jake felt the tiger grow wary – alarmed – at the unfamiliar weight, and he agreed; it was most uncomfortable.

But he found no reason to complain, as Sira'aki and JaLa'an also carried two each, leaving Rachel and KEdi'ir to their own and Tobias to bear Menderash's (as he was a bird, he hadn't brought any pack of his own).

They set out to find a new site for their camp.

Despite the best efforts of the _arisths and Estrid, the Yeerk-Controlled Andalite fighters were still shadowing them – although after their successful attempt at __Temrir's__ Feint, which had taken down three fighters and forced two to return to the __SwiftHoof, they kept at a distance. Several hours had passed, and nothing seemed to be happening – except that the __Phantom, its life support still overtaxing the energy supplies, was slowly but surely running out of energy._

They know they are unable to meet us face-on and win, not only the seven of them, Carali had muttered as explanation, possibly more to himself than to anyone else, for he was staring down at a console showing their pursuers and frowning. So they wear us out – they can't keep up maximum burn for long, but they don't need to, they just need to keep us on screen. They wait until we are too weak to resist. Then… they will attack.

Larynia rolled her stalks. Now you figure it out.

Hush, Larynia, Carali snapped, but in an offhand way that suggested he didn't really care – he spoke mostly out of habit.

Minalea had come to stand next to Carali, resting one hand on his arm to get his attention. He blinked in surprise first, but then turned both main eyes towards her.

When they _do attack, she said softly, will they blow the entire __Phantom up or simply try to board us to capture us?_

I do not know, Carali replied in a low voice.

If they decide to board us, at least we shall have a chance at killing them, Larynia said.

Estrid, who stood further away, guarding Olana, nodded. Correct. But also, they will have a chance at killing _us._

This is a meaningless discussion, Aralgo muttered from his place at the controls. Should we change course?

What difference would it make? Larynia wondered. We're lost. We'd still be lost. And they'd follow.

Carali had narrowed his main eyes and turned them towards Olana. _She should know where we are._

Olana glared defiantly back at him. And for what obscure reason do you think I'll be of any help to _you?_

Bring her to the consoles, Estrid, Larynia said in a voice so hard it could have made a diamond shiver.

Estrid led the Controller to the consoles.

Tell us which way leads home, Carali ordered.

Not a chance, Olana retorted, smiling smugly with her stalks. She made a show of ignoring the screen in front of her – until Larynia grabbed the back of her neck, and made her look down at it.

Suddenly the infested _aristh grew pale. Her stalks jerked back and forth, before; I… I would advice you to… change course, she said in an uncertain voice, hesitating but still speaking all too quickly._

And this from the same slug that claimed it would never do anything to help us, commented Carali mildly.

_Yeerks, Larynia declared, letting go of Olana's neck. No self-respect._

Estrid was watching the Controller intently. She's lying.

Of course she's lying, Larynia snarled. I say we keep going straight ahead.

I agree, Minalea said.

You do not understand… continued the Controller, voice slightly shrill, something desperate in the corners of her eyes; something nervous in the way her stalks quivered. There are Kelbrid ahead. Many Kelbrid. It is dangerous… Kelbird do not like Andalites.

We keep going straight ahead, Carali said.

Naturally, Aralgo agreed. If _she's so set on changing course…_

No! Olana cried, but then calmed her voice and continued, softer; No. No, no _no. You do not __understand. You __must not continue straight ahead. It would be the end of us all! If you value your lives, I beg you to change course!_

The _arisths and Estrid exchanged a set of glances. Minalea grinned broadly._

Then it is decided, Aralgo concluded finally.

Yes. Straight ahead, Estrid decided, and they all murmured agreement. 

Olana let out a thought-speech whimper.

An a'arill half-bird (half, because it could not fly in the true sense of the word) landed on the floor of the corridor, its four paws soundless against the cold metal. It crouched low as the tall, bladed creatures came closer, moving swiftly into a shadow, where its dark-speckled hide blended perfectly into its surroundings. A thin lid was closed over its black, white-pupilled eyes to keep them from glinting but still allow it to see.

(For anyone who has never seen an a'arill, it looks like a mix between a cat and a bat, about the size of the cat, with mentioned speckled hide but without a tail.)

The Hork-Bajir passed it, unaware of its presence, discussing among themselves the taste of different types of Dina'amm bark.

The a'arill listened with half an ear, staying still, waiting. When their heavy footsteps turned into a side corridor and began to fade, it rose on its four, stubby legs and half-ran, half-flew in its own very unique gait towards a specific door, its ears turning this way and that to be able to detect anyone who might be around before that anyone detected it.

Just a meter or so from the door it gathered its short legs back legs and slightly longer from legs below it, and leapt into the air, its wing-like front legs spread as it soared towards the access pad on the door.

It landed with its back claws hooked on the edge of the pad and front paws holding its body away from the wall. A tense moment passed as it again glanced around with its beady black-white eyes. It judged the situation to be more or less safe.

A hand developed from one of the front paws and was pressed against the access pad. Its very agile vocal cords formed the speech and intonation and words that made up the access code.

The door opened without question.

The a'arill leapt down to stand in the opening, ready to turn and run if what met it did not please it.

Two weary but alert eyes glared back at it, glinting dangerously.

"Can you stand?" asked the a'arill as it grew and twisted.

Who…

"Quiet. Can you stand?" it repeated, as it again grew hands and its wings developed into arms. Its voice was also changing, taking on a distinctly feminine tone.

The human in the cell peered at her. In the doorway she could stand, for no security camera could detect her there. And once again, the various morphs from the destroyed Kelbrid Home World were serving her well. Using her own access code to open the door was risky, but she had no choice. She brought a hand to her mouth to signal for silence.

You, the man in the cell said finally, and the dangerous glint in his eyes disappeared, although the alertness remained. Then; Yes, of course I can stand. He began pulling himself to his feet, to prove it, his face twisted into a mask of agony, but he did not allow himself to let out a single sound.

The a'arill began reappearing as the young woman – Melissa – in the doorway morphed again. I can't let anyone catch me in my own shape, she explained. This form is excellent for sneaking, fleeing and investigating. I'll lead you out, but you have to walk for yourself. Can you do that?

A determined nod. Certainly.

Melissa was not convinced. But Menderash surprised her by being true to his word, and keeping on his feet. Although if it was his legs or his stubborn pride that kept him up, she would never know.

They are turning. Bewilderment was in Aralgo's voice. The fighters are giving up!

Larynia, Carali and Minalea were asleep, so Estrid and Olana were the only ones besides Aralgo on the bridge. Olana was unconscious, her Yeerk having made a sudden, desperate attempt to take command of the ship, which had caused Carali to knock her out. For once, Minalea and Larynia had not objected. So only Estrid could react to Aralgo's words.

Giving up? Estrid said doubtfully. Whyever would they… She walked over to the consoles and stared down at them, frowning. Remarkable.

It is probably some sort of trick, Aralgo speculated. It has to be. Why would they just… give up? We are almost out of energy, and in another day or so we would have been practically defenceless, and they simply _let us go?_

Remarkable, Estrid repeated to herself.

Not only remarkable, but pure idiocy! ranted Aralgo.

No need to complain when your adversary is dumb, a familiar voice came from behind them, and Larynia wandered across the bridge on silent hooves, her tail swishing back and forth in an easily recognized practice pattern behind her. Aralgo, your stalks.

Yes?

They are not circling. Trainer Sarjil would be very angry with you.

Aralgo's stalks began circling again. He grinned with his main eyes. Have you become official instructor of the _Phantom, __aristh Larynia?_

No-one else is fit for the task, Larynia said, nonchalantly finishing the practice pattern. Now. What have the Yeerks done which upset you so?

I'm not upset, Aralgo muttered. In fact, I'm about ready to hold a feast, to celebrate. But that would overtax life support.

They stopped chasing us, Estrid clarified. They simply… turned back.

Why? Larynia wondered, peering down at the consoles.

Well, that cut right to the core issue, Aralgo commented cheerfully. Right past the unnecessary official phrases, the gibberish, the speculations, and right down to the main, the most important, the –

He stopped thought-speaking as he suddenly had to duck a tail-blade swiping at his head. Then he backed a step away again, still grinning. Why, Larynia! Don't be so aggressive. I'm –

Whatever it is, you better stop now if you value your life, Larynia told him. I'm trying to think. So be quiet, Aralgo. 

Not a chance, Aralgo laughed. He spun around on a back hoof and leapt to the side. Not right now! The Yeerks have stopped chasing us! We never have to face the _SwiftHoof Andalites again! There are no Kelbird around, and… he paused, eyes glittering …and we might even have a chance to survive long enough to head for home. I never thought I'd be able to hope that again._

 Estrid shook her head, slowly. But you were right. The question is not _that they let us flee, but __why. What caused them to turn? What is it about this part of space that they do not like?_

Aralgo blinked, shifting his weight to another set of hooves. Well, scientist, now that you put it that way, I honestly consider following the Yeerks.

Larynia shifted her weight to another set of hooves. That would be a very bad idea.

Estrid nodded. Now someone wake Carali and Minalea. We need to decide what to do. _Something about this part of space caused the Yeerks to give up chasing us. We need to decide whether ourselves we want to be around to find out __what. Maybe Olana's Yeerk was right to try to warn us –_

Yep, and maybe Dome ships are smaller than fighters, Aralgo interrupted pleasantly.

Aralgo! Estrid snapped.

Yes?

Do you mind?!

That depends. Concerning what?

Estrid stared at his innocent expression, was met by an equally innocent smile, and rolled her stalks in exasperation. Never mind.

If you say so, Aralgo agreed happily.

A most intriguing conversation, but let's get back to the point, Larynia intervened before Estrid could reply. I'll just wake Carali and Minalea. One moment.

She proceeded in sending a yell loud enough to wake the dead towards the sleeping quarters. Not long after, Carali and Minalea joined the others on the bridge. Minalea tripped Carali with her tail-blade, true to character, and kept giggling about it all through Aralgo's summary of their situation. Carali, in his turn, kept glaring at her.

They held a vote about what to do, and the result was unanimous for continuing ahead. The reason might have had something to do with the _Phantom's life support still being overtaxed and they needed to find another planet within less than a day, and straight ahead was a very promising solar system._

When that was decided, Olana – who still had been unconscious – stirred, and her eyes fluttered open. Every main eye focused on her, and Carali quickly leapt forwards to lay his blade against her throat.

That won't be necessary, Minalea objected, shoving his tail away with her own. Look. She pointed down on the floor, at a pile of grey dust and what could have been the dried skin of a slug.

A dead Yeerk. A starved Yeerk.

But it hasn't been three days! Aralgo exclaimed.

Carali and Minalea helped Olana back to her hooves. She was watching her childhood friend like one might have watched a porcelain vase about to fall down a set of stairs. Larynia's expression was about the same.

Olana was very pale, as if she was ill, and seemed both unsteady and unfocused.

Though when she spoke, her voice was clearer than expected – albeit slightly thin; He starved… she confirmed. He starved… because… But there she hesitated and suddenly drew a deep breath, staring out into space, her gaze lost in some world only she could see. Then she whimpered and sagged towards the floor.

Minalea and Carali caught her with some difficulty, and held her up, with some help from both Estrid and Larynia. Aralgo turned his attention back to the consoles and to piloting the ship, not considering himself to be of much use at the moment.

Olana kept wailing he was in my head… in my head…, and sobbing violently. There was not much to do but wait until she was finished, hug her, hold her hands and try to comfort her by phrases such as yes, but he's gone… and hush, you're safe now… – phrases she didn't even seem to hear.

Eventually the sobbing subsided, the wailing died down and Olana lapsed into an exhausted silence, her half-closed eyes empty of any expression.

Could someone take over here? Aralgo said, hating himself but feeling that the silence needed to be broken. I need sleep.

Larynia did so, and Aralgo disappeared down to his quarters.

Minalea? Would you take the watch after Larynia? Estrid asked. And Carali after that? I think I should lead Olana to her room… and I should probably keep an eye on her. Maybe give her something calming.

Of course, Minalea agreed. Will you wake me when it is my turn, Larynia?

And me, Carali said, sending Minalea a suspicious look. _Her, alone on the bridge for an entire shift? This place would be __filled with tripwires. I better keep an eye on her – especially if I am supposed to be on watch directly after. I am __sick of banging my knees on the floor._

Minalea's stalks grinned wickedly at him. She reached up to touch his cheek. There, there. You'll get used to it.

Carali grimaced, but then smiled back at her, before he left the bridge. Minalea helped Estrid lead Olana down towards the sleeping quarters, leaving Larynia alone on the bridge.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Author's Note;

Yep, another chapter up. I know there's very little about the Anis themselves at the moment, but there's a reason for that. *stubborn expression* I _need those Andalites in the story. And since they're "behind schedule", I need to fit in a lot about them at the moment. (And I would advice to read those parts as well, for those of you who don't… the two "storylines" will be woven together later on.)_

And I tried to send that picture of the kii-raja to everyone who asked for it, but I got a few "your junk mail was not appreciated", and I'm not sure if it arrived. Tell me if you asked for it but it didn't show up.

Moreover, I noticed that there is a total of (only) four stories in the Animorphs category with +100 000 words. This is one of them – the second longest. Before it is done, it'll probably be the longest *goes back to frenzied typing for a few minutes*. (TM Chrons missed by… what was it? 509 words? I suppose I'll finish correcting and editing that some day, and then I'll add those words. Haha. I might even start writing on the sequel. Then again, the chance of that happening is as small as the chance that I might decide I want a pink, fluffy Taxxon with removable teeth for Christmas and actually get one.)

There was something I was supposed to mention, but I forgot what it was. Hm.


	31. About a force field prank

About a force field prank

When Larynia's internal clock told her that her time on duty was up, she finished her game on the computer and called for Minalea. After a moment's consideration, she called for Carali as well. Minalea would not be pleased, but even thought Larynia (as well as Olana) was Minalea's best friend since before they'd learned to run, Larynia could agree with Carali that there was a limit to how many times tripping over a wire was entertaining. And that limit had been reached and passed.

As soon as the two had arrived, Larynia handed over command of the computer to Minalea, and exchanged a glance with Carali as he took a place out in the middle of the bridge, from where he had a reasonable view of what was going on.

I'll go down to Olana, and keep watch over her so Estrid can get some sleep, Larynia announced. She needs sleep, too, whether she realises it or not.

We'll be fine without you, Carali assured her, stifling a yawn. He was tired.

Minalea glared at the both of them. Go on down, Larynia, she muttered. I'm perfectly able to deal with _this one on my own. Especially since you decided to switch sides._

Someone needs to watch you, Carali said simply, while Larynia only grimaced.

Oh, then what am I? An exhibition tail fighter? Neither Carali or Larynia could help laughing at that one, but Minalea continued without caring for that; A morph dancer? An actress? I can do without people hanging over my tail-blade, watching my every move, thank you very much.

You might be fine, Larynia said. But 'people' might not.

That's peoples' problem, Minalea stated nonchalantly.

That's why people have sent a representative to make sure the trouble is kept at minimum, Carali said. I'm going to make sure you don't put up any trip wires, and there isn't much you can do about it.

Minalea looked at him with raised eyebrows for a long time, but finally flicked her tail in indifference. Fine. Stand there and watch, if you want to. I'm just going to play a few games of _fari__ tar jin, and you're NOT invited to join me. She turned demonstratively to the consoles to begin the game._

_Fari__ tar jin was a game Aralgo had managed to install those first days after leaving the __Daybreak. It was okay to play alone, but playing in a group was absolutely better. Carali, though, chose not to comment it. He was not very good at __fari__ tar jin, anyway.  If you say so, he simply agreed, preparing himself for a long, boring watch. At least it was better than the sever bruising his front knees would suffer if he didn't keep watch._

Have fun, Larynia murmured as she left the bridge and headed down to Olana's quarters.

At the end of her sentry shift Minalea finished off her game and turned to Carali, who was still standing in that same spot. There. Done. See? No pranks made. No trip wires, no nothing. I'm off duty now – your turn. She began walking towards the corridor leading to their quarters.

I'm surprised at you, Minalea, Carali admitted, waking up from a half-doze. Pleasantly surprised.

He gave her a last look, turned, and stepped purposefully towards the consoles. And suddenly felt like he had walked into an invisible wall.

It took him a moment to realise what had happened. And then…

A force field! he exclaimed, swivelling towards the other _aristh_ with an outraged expression. Minalea-Silinan-Alareim! You put up _a force field _around me?

Minalea was too busy laughing to answer him.

Let me out at once! he demanded, glaring at her. She must have ordered the force field up in private thought-speech. He would never have known. The possibility that she might have been infested struck him, but he dismissed it at once; she hadn't been out of sight at any time during their visit to the _SwiftHoof. There'd been no opportunity to infest her._

Perhaps… no, Minalea grinned. She danced closer to him, stopping just outside the force field cage, regarding him in an amused manner. You know, I can't believe I never thought of this before. It's just too brilliant.

Let me out!

I think not.

_Minalea_!

She only kept grinning. Don't worry, Carali. It's a one-way force field, so we'll be able to give you some grass to eat once in a while.

One-way?

Yep. Means you can't get out – but we can get in. To demonstrate, she stuck a hand through the force field.

Naturally, she had been planning to pull it back to safety before he had time to react, but Carali moved too quickly. Suddenly he had grabbed her hand and wrist, and, by tugging back sharply with his entire weight, pulled her through the force field and into the cage.

_Carali! she complained, regaining control over momentum – and her balance – by staggering into the force field wall on the other side of the cage. You weren't supposed to do that!_

You've only got yourself to blame, he said. He realized he was still holding her hand, and hurriedly let go of it.

She gave her a look as sharp as a tail-blade. How _dare you ruin a good prank?_

Oh, never mind that, he said. I've got duties to attend to, and honestly, I wouldn't mind if you left. So the fun is hereby over. Computer? Remove force field at location B4.

No sooner had he finished the sentence than he found the force field pushing inwards. The cage shrank rapidly, making both Carali and Minalea stumble towards each other. They ended up side by side, standing very awkwardly with the cage pressing them together.

Minalea glared some more, tail twitching. Now look at what you've done!

Carali's hand had been caught between their sides, and he wrenched it free, held it up behind him, uncertain of what to do with it. What? he snapped.

You can't give a ship orders from inside a force field cage, you stupid _gifash! And if you try to have a force field cage __removed from inside it, the cage will only _shrink_!_

And how was I supposed to know that?

You could have _thought_!

Well, he grumbled. We'll just have to call someone and ask them to let us out.

Minalea twisted where she stood, to give herself more room for her shoulders and arms. She was not as tall as Carali, and felt almost crushed between the merciless force field and the bigger male. His tail had somehow managed to end up held low, and that scythe of his was alarmingly (and annoyingly) close to her back hooves. She had no space to move.

No space.

_No space._

She fought down a sudden wave of claustrophobia, closing her eyes and focusing on breathing. There was room to breathe – was room to breathe, if not to move… couldn't move. _Couldn't move. She felt nauseous, her legs feeling weak and wobbly beneath her. She would have swayed if there'd been space for it, and felt her face go pale._

Carali looked down at her, at once concerned. Are you okay?

Claustrophobia, she explained in a weak voice. I'm fine. Just… why do you have to take up so much space?!

I'm… sorry? he tried, stalks flickering towards her uncertainly, mixing surprise with a look of wondering if perhaps he should be feeling insulted.

He tried to move away to give her some more room, knowing – as all Andalites – exactly how claustrophobia felt and not wishing it on her any more than on anyone else (with the obvious exception of certain slugs). Unfortunately, there was no room to move away to. Just a nice mess we've gotten ourselves into, he muttered conversationally.

Her eyes flashed open. 'We'? I blame this on _you_. You dragged me into this – and you made the force field shrink.

You put it up to begin with.

Only as a _joke_. I was planning to let you out, you know.

Why don't I trust you on that?

Like sleeping here a few nights would've done you any harm, Minalea huffed. But now, thanks to _you_, we're both trapped.

There was always the suggestion of calling for help… he reminded her. However, reminded of how closely the two were standing, and that the force field was invisible, he added; Although on seeing us, they may get the wrong impression.

About what? she snapped, but then noticed his meaningful glance and simply said; Oh.

Aralgo would be grinning for weeks, Carali predicted amiably.

Minalea grimaced. She twisted again, suddenly very aware of exactly where his body was in contact with her own.

She hated being trapped, she thought, trying to focus on something else. Hated it. But then the claustrophobia threatened to reappear, so she quickly decided not to think of _that, either._

Well, Carali continued. It's not much we could do about it, anyway. Either we call for help now, or we can wait until they find us in the morning. I suggest, he made yet another failed attempt to put some distance between them, that we call for help _now_.

Are you that eager to be rid of me? she wondered sharply, but some of her normal playfulness was back in her voice.

Not… exactly, he hurried to say, knowing that if he was not careful, she would take that sentence, twist its meaning around to fit her own purposes, and throw a tantrum, just for the sake of it – and maybe for her own amusement. If she did, things would turn unpleasant, as he would be forced to stay and listen.

That's what you implied.

I did not.

Did so, Minalea disagreed, seeking his gaze and holding it.

Are we going to call for help or not? he asked in a desperate attempt to change the subject.

See! You just did it again. Am I really that horrible?

Now Carali began to feel annoyed. You put up trip wires. You giggle too much. You locked me in a force field cage, and even managed to blame _me_ for it. You twist people's sentences against them. Yes, that would classify you as quite horrible.

Suddenly, unexpectedly – and therefore very to-the-point Minalea – she broke out laughing. She actually shook with laughter. But when she made another attempt to move, her back hooves tripped over his tail-blade. Her front hooves found no room to try to balance her, so she slipped unavoidably down towards the floor, the laughter gone, and the amusement on her face replaced by surprise.

Carali managed to catch her under her arms before she hit the floor. Getting back up in that limited space would have been awkward, not to say impossible. She fumbled with her legs for a moment before her hooves got a good grip on the floor and she could straighten back up, with some help from Carali.

He still held his arms around her, hands locked behind her back, standing with his upper body twisted to the side and leaning slightly towards her as he had been forced to do in order to catch her. She was, for a moment, struck by another burst of claustrophobia, but it was forgotten when she looked up and let her eyes meet his. There was something in them, something very intense, that she hadn't seen before. It both frightened and enticed her.

Carali? she said uncertainly.

Yes?

You… you can release me now.

Yes – yes… of course.

But he made no attempt to do so, neither his gaze nor his arms moving away from her, and Minalea made no attempt to break free. Instead, on impulse, she raised a trembling hand to his face and experimentally traced the line of his jaw. When she lowered her hand, his face followed for as far as it could. That caused his forehead to bump into hers, and stay tilted against it, but neither of them minded. One of Minalea's arms had somehow found its way up around his neck. Their stalks brushed gently past each other, with their stalk-eyes half-closed, both completely forgetting the basic rule of "stalks _always_ scanning".

Minalea was aware of one arm being freed from around her, so he could bring that hand to her face. Locking her gaze in his again, she was glad the other arm was still around her. If it let go, she thought, she would fall; for she was suddenly very unsteady.

Carali's hand was drawn gently across her face, rounding her cheek and then continuing down the side of her throat… only to suddenly be withdrawn. His other hand grasped her wrist, of the arm she'd held around his neck. Then she felt herself pushed away, as far away as possible in the limited space, and the Carali that regarded her was slightly wide-eyed – as if frightened.

What is it? she wondered, trying to calm down her racing hearts.

If they would get the wrong impression before, just imagine what they would make of this!

He was still clasping her wrist, in a manner that suggested he had no intentions on letting go. She lifted it, slowly, and pressed the back of his hand determinately against her cheek. Impressions they might get, she murmured. but would it be the wrong ones?

I… do not know, Carali said softly. You tell me.

Minalea surveyed his face. She focused on the dominant feature of that face – the dominant feature of any Andalite face – which was, clearly, his eyes. His eyes sparkled as he watched her, with a strange gentleness which made her feel like she was going to melt, and with visible confusion over that gentleness. They were green, as any Andalite eyes, but a darker, lusher shade of green that was absolutely tantalizing. She could easily drown in those eyes.

And very nearly did. But, shivering, she forced her gaze away and spoke. We still need to call for help to get out of this cage. She glanced towards the corridor leading away from the bridge with a stalk. We can't call Olana, for obvious reasons. Not Larynia either, who is watching her. She'd just tell us to shut up and manage on our own.

And we cannot call Aralgo… he would never let us forget it.

Maybe we should call for Estrid. She would probably be the least likely to draw any hasty conclusions, Minalea suggested, and Carali agreed. So they began calling for the scientist.

Rachel, Tobias (now in human morph), JaLa'an and KEdi'ir were playing _garih at the new campsite, while Jake and Sira'aki kept watch. KEdi'ir's ears both leaned heavily outwards in a broad, childish smile, as he was winning the game. Neither Rachel nor Tobias put much heart into it, more focused on their private, whispered conversations, and JaLa'an was constantly turning away to help Jake and Sira'aki keep watch._

One time, after KEdi'ir had tossed the almost square, flat stone that decided whose turn it was, it landed in Rachel's part of the circular game-area. She picked up her three chosen stones and fingered them, forgetting to expression growing more and more distant. Then suddenly her face twisted into a grimace and she dropped the stones, hands flying up to the sides of her head. 

"JaLa'an, KEdi'ir, _ri'imak," Rachel gritted, rubbing her temples. "Tobias – move."_

KEdi'ir was at once on his feet and headed up into the nearest tree. JaLa'an was slightly slower, taking the time to grab Tobias's arm and pulling him along.

"_Hey!" Tobias exclaimed, twisting his arm free and starting back towards Rachel, whose face was still contorted in pain._

JaLa'an simply wrapped a horn around the disobedient human and yanked him back. Tobias landed flat on his back, all air leaving his lungs. When he'd taken a deep breath and regained control of his aching lungs he'd already been pulled some distance from Rachel, and he glared up at the Kelbrid, beginning to struggle back up.

By then Jake was turning back towards camp, watching his cousin with some concern. But when he began forwards, JaLa'an shook his head.

"_Ky'y__ i'art yanu'uth'u siriv di'tas kii-raja kos lke'el cer," the Kelbrid said lowly._

"Kii-raja?" Tobias echoed. "_Tom?"_

JaLa'an only nodded.

Then Tom burst into the clearing and rushed towards Rachel, visible as only a golden blur. That golden blur proceeded to knock his waiting human to the ground and greet her in a way that looked like he might eat her in the process – if only by accident. Probably anything that had been in his way would have been… _hurt. At best. Keeping a distance was probably a good idea._

Even after Rachel (a couple of minutes later) managed to push her beast away, he stayed to hover anxiously nearby, almost dancing in place, only putting enough distance between himself and the human to make sure his claws did not cut her.

"Tom, you clumsy monster," Rachel muttered, one hand still rubbing her forehead as the other shot out to shove at her kii-raja. "Stop _prodding! It hurts."_

Tom let out a low whine, ceasing to dance around and sitting down. Rachel eventually stopped grimacing and stood up.

"What did he do?" Jake asked. He was wise enough not to come too close. Tobias had tried, only to be met by a snarl – which had earned the kii-raja another set of harsh words from Rachel.

"He always announces when he's coming, by thought, but when he gets eager he does it a little too sharply," Rachel muttered. "He _prods. Gives me a horrible headache."_

She placed a hand on Tom's head and scratched his healthy ear affectionately. The other ear was already healing, and he had lost his limp, but still Rachel found it better to leave the wounded ear alone. "Now where did you leave Jeanne, Santorelli and Marco?"

Right here, Marco's voice came, probably from the same direction as Tom had come, but one could not judge direction by thought-speech. Do you know exactly how effective the word '_yaysh' is when you have one kii-raja and you're looking for one Rachel?_

A wolf trotted into the clearing. He sat down by the edge, let his nose twitch for a moment, and then – assured that it was safe – began demorphing.

"Hello, Marco," Jake greeted him. "And the other two? You _were sort of responsible for them, so I hope you haven't abandoned them somewhere."_

Course not, Marco retorted. They're coming. We used that monster to locate you after this camp – he switched to normal speech; "camp-switching, so Jeanne stayed human to hold on to his tail and make sure he didn't take off completely after we said you-know-which word."

"It didn't work?" Rachel guessed, now moving on to rub the sides of Tom's neck.

"Oh, it worked fine," Marco informed her pleasantly. "For about two minutes. Then Tom got impatient and sped up. He dragged Jeanne about a hundred meters before she let go. After that, we had to track _him. Fortunately, he smells."_

"Does not," Rachel snapped, one arm protectively around her kii-raja's neck as she and the beast glared at Marco.

"Does too."

"He doesn't –"

"Look, who just spent time as a wolf trying to sniff him out? Me or you?"

Rachel responded by uttering a more or less rude word, and Tom dutifully snarled his agreement, making Marco take a cautious step back.

"So Tom smells," Jake concluded. "How does that tell me where the rookies are?"

Jeanne had to morph, so Marco just went ahead to check the scene, Santorelli said. His rhino was coming out from among the trees at a trot, flanked by Jeanne's panther.

Besides, Jake, Jeanne added silkily. I'd hardly count us as rookies any more.

"Any sign of Menderash?"

The trail led to the Blade ship, Jeanne told him. Tom led us there – once he'd figured out what we wanted.

Rachel nodded. She was sitting next to the pile of packs, thoroughly going through them, looting them for something edible. When she'd found enough, she waved the three new arrivals over. "Come and eat something, you need it – we've already eaten."

Marco hurried forwards. "Food. Great. I'm starving."

Rachel held out packet of squirming _pata'oki, and he moved to snatch it. But Tom leapt between them and bared his teeth in warning. Marco froze, while Rachel shoved her kii-raja aside. "Stop that, Tom," she muttered, pressing the packet into Marco's still out-stretched hand. "Sorry. He does that sometimes."_

When it was Santorelli's turn he moved more slowly, careful to seem harmless, earning no more than a suspicious glare from the golden beast.

Finally, Jeanne – smiling – made a gesture at Tom, which made him sit down. He let her come close enough to take her food and was rewarded by a generous amount of _ku'ulj. He looked extremely pleased with himself as he chewed it. Jeanne stroked his ears. "See, Marco? A well-placed bride will do the trick."_

"If I tried to give that thing food he'd take my entire arm," Marco predicted.

"Don't be silly. Not without mustard."

"_Mustard?" Marco questioned, voice muffled as his mouth was filled with the disorderly __pata'oki._

"Ketchup would fine too," Jeanne assured him.

"You know, I think Marco's arm would go down just as it is," Rachel mused. "He _is getting hungry. I should send him hunting…" She lapsed into silence, eyes suddenly glazed over._

Someone coming? Tobias guessed. He had demorphed and was, as usual, now perched on Rachel's shoulder – under her kii-raja's careful supervision, unavoidably.

Rachel nodded. She made a twisting movement with her hand at Tom, and pointed in amongst the trees, past Jake. "_Fetch," she commanded. Her beast darted off in the direction she had pointed, visible again as only a streak of gold-brown fur. He almost knocked Jake off his feet as he passed him._

"Who?" Jake wondered, regaining his balance.

"Morphable. Human… more details as he gets closer, so…" Her forehead was laid in lines as she focused on her kii-raja's mental sendings.

Suddenly there was a loud cry, followed by a rumbling that could have been a distant snarl. Rachel's face was lit by a grin.

"What, exactly, is he doing?" Marco asked suspiciously.

"Fetching," Rachel replied happily.

Only a few moments had passed when Tom returned, this time not alone. He was partly carrying (with his teeth), partly herding, and partly dragging a human in a Blade ship uniform. He brought his captive to Rachel and effortlessly knocked the human to the ground with a final swipe of his paw.

"Melissa!" Rachel exclaimed, hurrying to help her friend back up. The sudden movement made Tobias flutter from her shoulder and up to a branch. Tom sat down, head on the side, obviously puzzled by his human's behaviour.

"Nice to see you again," Melissa said in reply, wincing as she moved – Tom had used his claws and teeth in order to make sure she went in the right direction. "Less nice to see your kii-raja, though."

"Tom? Oh, he's harmless."

Melissa regarded the clear teeth marks on her upper left arm and shoulder. "I'm sure he is." She glanced towards Jake. "Your permission to morph without risk being attacked?"

Jake nodded, warily, and Melissa began morphing. Rachel took a hold on Tom's ear.

"What do you want this time?" Marco asked, arms crossed across his chest.

"I brought you your _nothlit," Melissa said, and switched to thought-speech; Thought you might need him._

"Menderash?"

A nod from Melissa, who by then was a barely recognizable, tiny heap of willowy, red and bright yellow limbs with small paws, a long tail and a head on a thin neck, all with some trace of humanity still mixed in.

"A _ji'ilam?" Rachel said, and the lizard-like creature nodded. "Isn't that a bit __cold?"_

The creature nodded again, and began demorphing back to Melissa. She was shivering, and her lips weren't the only part of her that was blue with cold. "L-l-last time I m-morph on rand-dom," she declared. "D-damn that thing and its need of h-h-heat."

"Melissa?" Jake said with fake patience.

"Y-yes?" The shivering was slowly subsiding.

"Where's Menderash?" Jake demanded.

"I'll sh-show you," Melissa offered, rubbing her hands for warmth as she begun to leave camp again. She turned and waited for someone to follow, frowning. "He isn't in very good shape, Jake. Are you coming?"

Jake and Marco exchanged a glance: Jake questioning and Marco's slight scowl speaking clearly; _it could be a trap. Jake's expression switched to a frown._

"Oh, _seriously," Rachel exclaimed, rolling her blind eyes, hooking her arm in Jake's and dragging him along as she began towards Melissa, who now wore a many-meanings smile. The smile froze when Rachel added; "Come along, Tom."_

But without a word of complaint, Melissa led the three away.

"So," Marco said. "If it's a trap, and Jake gets butchered, who do we nominate for our next Supreme Fearless Leader?"

"Shut up, Marco," Jeanne ordered, before putting the last of her meal into her mouth. She'd taken a break from eating when Melissa had arrived.

Santorelli smiled. "We have a nominee," he declared. "Already giving orders. Taking a head start?"

"You can shut up, too," Jeanne told him pleasantly.

Santorelli only snickered.

Estrid had just succeeded in falling asleep. Therefore she looked a bit grumpy as she arrived at the bridge, but at the sight of Carali and Minalea, still trapped in the force field cage, her face quickly turned to surprise and then to a knowing smile that made both of the _arisths feel uncomfortable._

Well well, Estrid said, eyes twinkling. What have we here?

One of Minalea's pranks backfired, Carali explained.

My pranks do _not_ backfire! Minalea spat, insulted, glaring at him. Nobody spoke ill of her pranks and got away with it.

Oh, _really_? Then it was intentional? he questioned silkily, and gave her a piercing look.

To her absolute horror, Minalea found herself beginning to blush under that look.

I see, Estrid muttered, watching the two with one eyebrow raised. Her stalks were swivelling lazily – a habit she had begun to copy from the rest of them.

I locked _him_ in here, Minalea confessed. But he pulled me in after him. And then he shrunk the force field by trying to remove if from the inside.

You can't remove a force field from the inside, Estrid sighed, as if that was common knowledge.

That's what I told him. And smugly, Minalea added; Or maybe _that_ was the intentional part, Carali?

Oh, hush. Carali did not like the turn the conversation had taken. Could you let us out, Estrid?

Are you sure you want out? the scientist asked, amused.

_Estrid_! they complained in perfect chorus.

All right, all right. Computer? Please remove force field at location B4.

The force field fell away. Minalea and Carali each took a step away from the other – and Carali, relieved, raised his tail back up to where he usually carried it. Only then did they notice that they were still holding hands. They quickly let go.

Thank you, Estrid, Carali said lowly.****

You're welcome, Estrid replied. This time. Because, just so you know, I am not going to save you out of any more… backfired pranks, if that's what you wish to call them. I need my sleep.

With that – and a last, amused look back – she left them to manage on their own. They exchanged a glance. Carali was the first to speak: No more force field cages.

Agreed.

Carali blinked in surprise that she had actually consented to give up on a prank – not that he was about to complain.** And what do we do about this? he wondered instead, and to show her what he meant he let a finger brush past his cheek. He had to stifle a sudden urge to step closer to her and embrace her again. No telling where that might end.**

Minalea's eyes glittered. Any suggestions?

Pretend it never happened?

She looked vaguely hurt. Do you want that?

No, Carali said quickly. I just… He suddenly stopped speaking, realising that he had no idea what he wanted to say.

She sighed. I… maybe I should go back to my quarters. I need sleep, too – I've been up most of the night. And you're supposed to be on duty, _aristh _Carali-Sarthantir-Malar, or do you actually intend to neglect your tasks?

With a start, he realised that was correct. But he didn't want her to leave.

There was no need to ask her to stay, either, as things turned out. For suddenly the ship's computer flashed its warning signal and they both hurried to the main console. Carali's fingers went to the control board and began working.

What is it? Minalea asked.

A hologram appeared, first showing an overview of their surroundings, and then zooming in on a large number of small, black objects that were steadily advancing on their ship, the _Phantom_. They watched the picture for a while, as the computer rushed to clarify it enough for it to be recognized and categorized.

Kelbrid, Carali said tonelessly, adopting the almost indifferent expression every _aristh_ was strictly taught.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Author's Note;

I've been a good little writer and typed very quickly, haven't I? *smile*

Yes, as Sunset Dolphn figured out, Olana's Yeerk died of Kandrona starvation because of the Cava'aran sun. I've got high plans for that sun. *rubs hands* And I'd like to mention that yes, DJ Eagle, Cassie's coming back. Soon. At least… well, she's not actually coming _back, but she'll be in the story. And Jake won't be happy._

You'll understand what I mean when you read that chapter.

She _is coming back properly awhile after that, though. I've just got to write… oh, I don't know, five chapters? Six? Seven? I just can't seem to keep this short, nice and simple. *goes to fetch dictionary in order to check definition of those completely unknown words* But she __will play a major part in the story (which also her being sub-temporally grounded will), I promise. It'll just take awhile._

I'd like to thank anyone who reviewed the last chapter. And, one more thing; don't forget to *takes deep breath* REVIEW(!!!!!) this one.

*grins* Haven't said that for the last few chapters.


	32. When troubled by illusions

When troubled by illusions

The first to return to camp was Tom. He went straight to Jeanne, nuzzled her hand and gave her an inquiring hungry-dog look. When she shook her head, already having finished the last of her meal, the kii-raja turned and slunk away again.

He returned only a moment later, flanking Rachel – as usual. He looked moderately irritated, glancing back every other second, for just behind him and his human came Jake, Melissa and Menderash. Tom, of course, trusted none of the tree, and could not for the life of him understand why Rachel insisted on letting them walk so close – and behind her, at that.

Rachel exchanged a few words with the two adult Kelbrid when she came close enough, and the next second she and Sira'aki were digging in one of the Kelbrid's pack.

Melissa and Jake were practically carrying Menderash between them – which was a tricky business, since his mangled shoulder ruled out the usual arms-on-shoulders technique. They both looked relieved to be able to put down the heavy, barely conscious _nothlit._

JaLa'an had arranged a few blankets by the root of a tree and Menderash was carefully placed there. Jeanne came to sit next to him, quickly checking for pulse and breath, and then placed a hand on his forehead.

"He's burning up," she announced, looking up at Jake, who only nodded, his concern visible in his slight frown.

Rachel folded her legs and sat down on Menderash's other side, opposite to Jeanne. "Give him this," she ordered, holding out a bowl containing a sticky green fluid.

Jeanne took it suspiciously, and wondered; "What is it?"

"The name would mean nothing to you," Rachel said. Tom hovered over her shoulder, tense from the grave atmosphere that had descended over camp. "It's a mixture of water and plants. It'll relieve any pain, slow any bleeding, and send him into a deep sleep. We'll probably have to stitch that shoulder, which means we want him to be properly asleep."

Jeanne nodded. She bent forwards to try to wake Menderash enough for him to drink. She gently shook his good shoulder. His eyes, though dull with fever, opened at once and his gaze was surprisingly sharp.

"Here. Take this."

She held out the bowl, and with Rachel helping they made the First Officer sit and drink it all – although he grimaced at the taste.

"Have you got anything against fever?" Jake asked.

"_Ni'aye__ dure'avi'ir'elath jilu'art i'nayth?" Rachel asked the Kelbrid in their musical language._

"_Ra'ah," Sira'aki replied, nodding. She began rummaging through her bag again._

Menderash's breathing was growing steadier and his features were less tense. Jeanne realised that he'd fallen asleep. There was a light tap on her shoulder and she looked up at JaLa'an, who gestured for her to move.

"He wants to look at the wound," Rachel explained. 

Jeanne moved, and JaLa'an took her place. He had his own pack next to him, and he was already bringing out what he needed.

"Rachel?" Marco said suddenly. He was standing next to Jake.

"Yes?"

"Do they know what they're doing?"

Rachel shrugged. "More than any of us, I'd say. They're all medics, Kelbrid. They know their way around a wound. I've learned, too, but since…" She made a vague gesture towards her eyes, grimacing. "Well, Tom's sight isn't _perfect… I only do what I have to nowadays."_

"So they know Kelbrid wounds," Marco concluded. "But on a _human?"_

"They've stitched me up pretty well a few times," Rachel told him. She grinned, but mirthlessly, up at Jake. "See? This is what happens when you leave Cassie behind."

"Yep," Marco agreed, smiling, just as mirthlessly as Rachel. "That was unforgivable."

 Jake could only nod. For a moment his eyes grew unfocused, but then he sighed, and turned to Melissa. "I suppose we owe you one," he said tonelessly.

Melissa smiled. "I suppose you do. But don't worry; all debts will be paid if you bring me back home." Her smile disappeared and her gaze turned sharp as she studied the Animorph leader, as if to see right through his forehead and into his mind. "Just _get __me __home."_

"We will," Jake assured her, but he looked a bit distant. "As soon as we're done in this part of space, we will."

Melissa kept up her evaluating look. Then she glanced towards Rachel, who was discussing something with JaLa'an while he worked on cleaning Menderash's wound. Her gaze was met by the warning, golden glare of Rachel's kii-raja. As Tom flexed his claws and bared his teeth, not liking the glance, Melissa turned away.

"I need to return to the Blade ship before anyone misses me," she said.

"Then you better hurry," Marco told her. He still stood next to Jake, and his arms were crossed over his chest.

Melissa nodded. "I'll see if they suspect me for anything, just to be sure. I'll be back… when? Tomorrow, the day after? You'll still be here?"

Jake grimaced, but – looking down at Menderash – nodded.

"Good," Melissa said, relieved. "Wait for me – I'll be able to help you." She turned to leave, but only got a few steps before she twirled back around. "By the way. That ship you're looking for… it's about three _gi'im west of the Blade ship. And the One is gone – he went out to some ship somewhere. He should be gone another few days."_

"Thanks, Mel," Rachel said with a smile.

Melissa returned the smile with one of her own – although a wavering such – and then disappeared in amongst the trees, already morphing.

"I don't trust her," Marco announced, so lowly that only Jake – and Santorelli, who was nearby – heard. Probably Tobias, too, but he ignored it.

"Why not?" Santorelli wondered. "All she wants is too go home. Sensible request."

"Yes, but she seems just a bit too… _desperate."_

Jake gave his friend a studying look, and Marco held up his hands as if in defence; "Hey, don't mind me anyway, I'm no expert judge of character. Not like Cassie."

"Could everyone _please stop discussing Cassie?" Jake exclaimed with sudden ferocity, and swivelled around to stalk away._

Carali looked down at Minalea, beside him, and took a deep breath. We better alert the rest of the crew and get them all up to the bridge.

Minalea called out in thought-speech to wake the sleeping crew. They came quickly, sensing the urgency in her voice. Aralgo arrived first, followed by Estrid, and then Larynia – and Olana.

Kelbrid, Carali said before any questions were asked. Small, black arrowhead fighters.

How many? Aralgo wondered.

Too many for my liking, Carali replied grimly. Forty-three, exactly, if the number helps us for some reason.

Then what are we waiting for? Aralgo said. Time to leave. Quickly!

Already working on it, Carali assured the rest of the group, and he was. But one stalk swivelled back to look at Olana. Only… I'm not the best pilot.

There was a silent and all too long moment as Olana raised her face, some flicker of life returning to her eyes.

Could you handle the ship? Minalea asked her softly.

Olana actually smiled. It was a weak smile, but nevertheless a smile. It seemed the question was some kind of old joke between the two of them. Minalea, the day hasn't come when I would answer no to that question, and you know it.

She took Carali's place, assumed control of the ship and was at once completely absorbed in her task.

Estrid nodded to herself. Work will do her good. Take her mind off… that Yeerk, she muttered, to everyone except Olana.

The _Phantom began, for the second time in only two days, to flee.****_

More Kelbrid up ahead, Olana told them, a hand stretching up to tug at a stalk. A dozen. And more, to our left.

Veer off, Larynia ordered, watching one of the screens. Down and right. Can you do a Z-space jump with a twist?

Minalea laughed. She practically _invented it._

Olana ignored Minalea. So did everyone else, except Carali who couldn't stop a smile from twinkling in the depth of his stalk-eyes.

I'll try, Olana murmured, her stalks scanning out the windows and at the approaching Kelbrid.

The craft veered sharply right – the gravity compensation saving the lot of them just half a moment before they would have tumbled to the floor – and dove downwards and sideways at the same time, and then toppling around itself – rolling over its side – and when it straightened it was in Z-space, and its crew was feeling nauseous. The ship was then facing another direction from that by which it had seemed to enter. The point of the manoeuvre was of course to feint disappearing in one direction, but truly go the opposite way.

Out again? Olana wondered, fingers dancing over the controls. The _Phantom could of course be controlled by thought-speech, but for some reason Olana preferred the manual option, which also lessened the amounts of thought-speech returned to the crew from the computer. The computer, just as a Dome-ship's computer, had a tendency to forget that sending out seven or more different thought-speech sentences at the same time would only leave the poor crew confused, and with a headache._

Yes, and then repeat the entire manoeuvre, Larynia instructed.

But do not go too far in any direction, Estrid warned. We still need to head for that planet.

The _Phantom exited, entered and again exited Z-space. Carali studied the screens for any signs of Kelbrid fighters, and saw none. We may have escaped, he said._

Or not, Aralgo disagreed. One extra jump, Olana, to be sure.

Olana sent the ship into the thick white of Z-space again, and after a few moments she let it back out. There were still no Kelbrid in sight.

Better, Minalea sighed, relief in her thought-speech voice.

So, Carali said. How about heading towards that planet?

_Jake felt the familiar strength of tiger body he inhabited, and that gave him some comfort. But he was worried; for he had no idea how he'd ended up tiger. He didn't remember morphing._

_Around him was the Pool. The Yeerk Pool; familiar, frightening, and… wait a moment, that couldn't be correct, the Pool was… the Pool was blown up… no._

_A scene from his past.__ Had to be. It felt too real to be his imagination or a dream. Then again, it felt too real to be a scene from the past; too substantial to be a mere memory. He let his gaze sweep across Rachel, a grizzly, Marco, in gorilla morph… Tobias, above, a hawk, and Ax, his tail flashing._

_Ax__?__ How..? But, a voice in his head argued; yes, **of course Ax was there as well. Ax was one of them. Ax was always with them.  Where else would he be?**_

_And then, there was Cassie._

_Cassie, who was not in morph.___

_Cassie, who was on the infestation pier.___

_Jake's blood turned to ice. The rest of the world faded. The other Animorphs seemed to dim and disappear, as if a thick fog had come to hide them._

_There was only him, the pier, Cassie, and the two Hork-Bajir taking her arms, forcing – _

**_No_****_!_**

_Jake was running. He flew over Taxxons and Hork-Bajir, ignored the dracons that were fired at him, ignored everything he passed, eyes pasted as if with glue on the infestation pier and the head that was slowly lowered, slowly… slowly…_

_Jake ran. But however fast he ran, he came no closer; and however he strained his powerful tiger muscles, he could run no faster._

_He roared and struggled. He slashed at the air that held him back with his paws, and threw himself forwards towards the pier and the two Hork-Bajir who were always just out of reach, always just beyond his deadly claws._

_Then Cassie's ear was beneath the surface of the Pool, and the entire world stopped. Jake froze halfway through a leap and then fell to the floor and landed with a bang, suddenly human again. He peered up with eyes that were filled with tears and tried to look about. But the world was cloudy, foggy, and growing dimmer by the moment…_

_The last thing Jake saw was Cassie's face, afraid, angry, tears rolling down her cheeks as she accused him, cried at him, almost screaming; "You couldn't save me, Jake. You failed me. You failed me! How could you? **How could you?!"**_

Jake sat up with a jerk.

"Whoa!" Marco's voice said out of the dark. He had been sitting by the foot of a tree – he had the first sentry shift that night – but at Jake's sudden movement he had flown up. Now he turned to look curiously at Jake. "You scared me. Don't do that."

Jake glanced around. Menderash was asleep, with Sira'aki sitting next to him, half slumbering. Her eyes had opened for a moment at Marco's words, but now they were closed again. Her horns twitched in their curls above her head, and her expression was slightly irritated. JaLa'an and KEdi'ir were not to be seen; probably up in the trees. Tobias sat on a branch, just within sight. Santorelli, Jeanne and Rachel were asleep, but Tom's golden eyes were open and watching the Animorph leader, as evaluating and menacing as ever. Finally the beast rested his head back down, on Rachel's side, but his eyes didn't close.

Jake took a deep breath. His hands were shaking. He clenched them to make them stop. He felt cold, even though the night was warm.

"Bad dream?" Marco guessed, and Jake could only nod. "About what?"

"The Yeerk Pool," Jake whispered softly. "And Cassie… on the infestation pier."

Marco regarded him, head tilted slightly to the side. "The Pool is history and Cassie is safe back on a Yeerk-free Earth," he said finally, sinking back to the forest floor where he had been sitting. "So nothing to worry about."

Jake could only nod again. His voice felt blocked, and all he could manage was a; "Yeah. Safe."

"You wouldn't have left her there if there was the slightest risk of danger," Marco teased, eyes glittering.

Jake ignored that. Sighing, he lay back down, forced his eyes closed, and willed himself to sleep.

It was a group of more or less confused and very downhearted _arisths – plus one similarly humoured scientist – that was standing by the controls of their ship, the __Phantom, and gloomily watching the mass of fighters assembled outside. Not one of them was still not sure about what, exactly, had happened. What had gone wrong, or where, or why._

The Kelbrid fighters had formed some sort of shield around themselves, and packed together – _melted together – to trap the Andalite cruiser in a sphere of fighters._

It was not surprising when the sphere suddenly acquired gravity and the _Phantom fell downwards towards what had been chosen to be 'down'. The cruiser hit the 'floor' with an audible crash and the group of Andalites inside it felt their legs fold beneath them at the impact. They were all bruised, and more than a little alarmed, but fortunately nothing was broken._

At noises from outside the ship, their stalk-eyes searched their way towards the windows. They caught sight of the Kelbrid that had begun to assemble outside, peering in, their horns whipping above their heads and wrist-blades slashing at air in what clearly was a challenge.

Opaque, Olana snapped at the computer. The windows darkened, hiding the outside from their view; and hiding them from the Kelbrid's view.

The exits are sealed? Aralgo asked as he got back up on his hooves, feeling better when the enemy could no longer see them.

Yes, Carali confirmed. At least if no-one has tampered with them.

No-one has, Olana said softly, using the consoles for support as she examined a back hoof that had taken a nasty hit against a control station when she'd fallen. Should I… activate that… control program again?

Which? Larynia asked. The one which left you in complete control of the ship?

Yes, Olana confirmed, pulling at a stalk. She pawed the floor with a hoof, almost nervously. Program 592-63-_dalaf. It will… avoid anyone trying to steal the ship._

Then do so, Estrid said, and exchanged a glance with Larynia, then Carali. She looks after the ship – that was Captain Kandion's orders, after all. We look after her. That way, we don't lose the ship, and we still have a way home – or at least a way _away. _

Larynia flicked her tail in agreement, and Olana turned to activate the control program.

Minalea was the last to stand up again. She had been listening to the conversation with only one ear, her true attention focused elsewhere. Now she stretched up a hand and ordered; Aralgo, help me up.

Aralgo turned to watch her with his main eyes, surprised and puzzled at the request. He began moving towards her, to comply, but Carali sent him a short glare with one stalk and had already stepped towards Minalea to help her.

About a hand's width away his front hoof caught a trip wire and he fell to the floor. By then he – and the others – had had plenty of practice in falling to the floor and one would think they would have learned to fall with some grace, but Carali fell just as gracelessly and heavily as the first time.

Minalea had to scramble back, out of his way, to avoid the tail that arched forwards to compensate the extra momentum. She peered at his unmoving shape for a moment, with all four eyes, worried… until he raised his head and stalks, watching at her with a resigned expression. And annoyed, naturally.

Was that _completely necessary? he gritted._

Minalea did not, for once, laugh. She moved forwards again and studied his front hoof; the one that had caught the wire. Suddenly her face broke into a wide grin.

It worked, she declared happily. It actually worked!

So I noticed, Carali muttered. He stood up, slowly and only as far as possible, for the trip wire had somehow snared about his leg, all the way up to his knee. He glared at it, wondering how best to remove it, tail twitching behind him. Minalea hurriedly bent down to loosen the snare before he ruined a good wire. Only then could he straighten.

Someday, Minalea, someone is going to be _very angry with you, Carali predicted. People do not like being used for your… __tests. Especially not when they don't even know about it._

Sorry, Carali, Minalea murmured, while she was sitting down by the entrance to set out more of the snaring wires. But I _did ask __him, not you. She waved at Aralgo._

And I suppose I'm expected to be grateful or honoured or something for that, Aralgo muttered sourly.

Minalea ignored him. She worked quickly by the entrance, and finally said; Olana, could you construct a one-way force field… she looked around, found a good spot, and pointed at it …there?

Why? Olana wondered.

Minalea smiled, in a very mischievous manner. We'll probably have uninvited guests in a few minutes. I just want to make sure they are properly… welcomed.

That smile made the rest of the _Phantom's crew suspicious. That smile meant trouble, and they all knew it. _

Explain, Larynia ordered curtly, expression the general opinion.

Minalea did. She pointed down by the entrance. Trip wires – snares, to be exact. Like the one I just tested. Three of them, which will stop at least one intruder. Even if they pass that, Olana's one-way force field will trap a few more before they realise what's going on.

Carali and Minalea glanced at each other; the glance ended with Minalea flicking her tail and looking away. Carali's eyes smiled briefly.

It's a reasonably good plan, Aralgo admitted. He lifted a shredder from a counter and tossed it to Estrid. And we've got four of these, too. He proceeded to give one to Carali, one to Minalea, and keep the last for himself.

Why not just… keep them out? Estrid wondered, eyeing her shredder and arranging its adjustments.

We're low on energy as it is, we all know that, Olana said. The protective shield would last an hour, no more.

I know. But there's still the hull. They'd have to get through that to get in.

When our energy supply fails life support will cease and unless we then open the door we'll suffocate, sooner or later. And if we're in space at the time, we'll suffocate anyway.

Carali readied his weapon. Everyone ready?

As good as, Aralgo muttered, while Estrid nodded grimly, Larynia raised her tail, Minalea grimaced, and Olana did nothing except step closer to the computer consoles and set up a proper thought-speech link.

Then let them in, Olana, Carali said.

Don't forget that force field, Minalea reminded her, a hint of fear in her voice.

Olana told the computer to set up the force field, took a deep breath, and whispered; Computer… open door.

When Jeanne woke in the morning it was because someone was shaking her – gently, but enough to wake her.

"What?" she wondered groggily, turning over on her side to try to escape.

"It's way past dawn and time to get up," Jake's voice told her.

She sat up. "What? Dawn! But I was supposed to take the midnight shift!"

"Don't worry. I rook care of it," Jake said.

Jeanne glared at him "What, you think I wouldn't have been able to keep awake?!" She'd promised to take that shift only to let Marco, Santorelli and Jake have a few hours of extra sleep, and now she felt rejected. She did not like it.

"No," Jake said softly. He grimaced. "I just… I was already awake, so…" He shrugged uncomfortably, stood up, and went to wake Marco and Santorelli.

"You'll have to wake Rachel," he told her over his shoulder when the two began coming out of their deep sleep. "That beast won't let me come close enough." And as if to remind him of that, Tom sent him a good glare, teeth bared in warning.

Jeanne smiled knowingly and went – almost demonstratively – over to Tom and sat down to scratch his ears. She gave him a dry piece of _ka'atj from her pocket at the same time. The beast nuzzled her hands to see if she had any more goodies, and allowed her to wake Rachel without question – even though it was obvious how Jeanne moved slowly, to not seem threatening, and Tom was watching her very closely._

Rachel's first action when she awoke was to scowl at Jeanne, who had returned to scratching Tom's ears.

"That's _unnatural," Rachel muttered, tugging at the kii-raja's tail to get his attention back._

"Jealous?" Jeanne asked.

"Of course not," Rachel said briskly – too briskly.

Jeanne gave the kii-raja's ears a final scratching and stood up. "Don't worry. He'd still follow you to, past and back from the gates of hell, while he ignores me completely – until I have something to feed him with."

Rachel did not look convinced. "It's unnatural," she complained to Tobias, who had just come down to land on her shoulder, and was – moreover – the only person who would listen. "He's not supposed to care about her _at all."_

It troubles you?

"Of course it does! He's _my kii-raja. If she's so fond of them, she could get her own."_

So you _are jealous, Tobias concluded._

Rachel swiped playfully at him with the back of her hand. He flapped his wings in protest. "Definitely not," Rachel told him. "Besides, I thought you were supposed to be on _my side."_

I am, Tobias assured her. Always. But that doesn't mean I'll spoil you. Everyone needs a good debate now and then. He nibbled fondly at her hair with his beak – the way a parrot might have done, so for a hawk it looked moderately silly.

Not that that mattered. Rachel grimaced, reaching up to run a finger down his beak. Then she sat down next to Sira'aki, who was keeping guard over Menderash. 

"How is he?" she wondered in the musical, rising and sinking language of the Kelbrid.

"Not better," Sira'aki told her. She was looking through her bag for the little packets of herbs. "And there is little hope he will be. He has lost too much blood, the wounds are deep and were heavily infected… they are clean now, but it might have been too late. The infection might already have spread into the blood stream. He may not hold the strength to recover."

"Has the fever lessened?"

"No."

Rachel made Tom look down at the _nothlit. His face was pale grey as ashes, and he was covered in blankets up to his throat, but still shivering. The fever was obvious from the way his forehead was clammy – she need not have asked._

"How is he?"

Rachel recognized the voice – Marco's – and Tom told her that her fellow Animorph had come to stand behind her – but at a certain distance from Tom himself. (The beast seemed very pleased about that.)

"Sira'aki says he might not recover," Rachel said. "He doesn't have the strength."

Marco huffed, but the usual disdain was clearly missing. "If he doesn't have the strength, he'll get through on pure stubbornness."

Tom informed her that Marco turned and left – she heard his footsteps.

The group ate their small rations of breakfast in silence and few words were spoken. KEdi'ir won another few games of _garih__ against Rachel, Tobias, Marco and Santorelli. Jake was in wolf morph, squatted at the edge of camp, keeping lookout (even though almost everyone else considered Tom to be lookout enough). Now and again his eyelids would start to close, his head drop slowly, as if he was falling asleep, but each time he straightened up again, annoyed._

JaLa'an and Jeanne tried to coax some food and drink into Menderash, but he could manage no more than a few mouthfuls of juice – the juice that, according to the Kelbrid, would lessen the fever.

Not much else could be done.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Author's Note;

Long note today.

Firstly; yes, I know not much happened in this chapter. And It's not going to get much better for the next one… I think.

Secondly; just a warning to Lilac27. Locking me into a force field cage with my computer would, in practice, be useless, since I write this story in notepads and on spare papers, and without them this story would be condemned to failure. Never underestimate the power of pen and paper. Staring at a screen does not help creativity. (For some strange reason, sitting on the subway with a test before you and three hours of sleep behind you does.)

Thirdly, because someone asked; yes, I live in Sweden, and mostly, it's very nice. Also, I speak Swedish, and I can both read and write in Swedish. But I've gone to English schools all my life and lived abroad a total of three times, so English is pretty much rooted into my system. That gets complicated at times. For example, when I'm writing in English, sometimes I come up with _the __perfect sentence, hurriedly scribble it down… and only then realise it's in Swedish. The frustration! And translating it to be equally brilliant in the other language is, of course, impossible. Not to mention all the Swenglish word-jumbles my poor friends have to live with daily._

And lastly; to solve the email problem, I put up the kii-raja picture on my livejournal. You can see it here: http://www.livejournal.com/talkread.bml?journal=stormfairy&itemid=10520

That was all.


	33. About the anger of a beast

About the anger of a beast

"This is wrong."

Jake's voice was just loud enough to be heard by everyone awake. The ones sleeping – who didn't hear him – consisted of two people; Sira'aki and Menderash. Menderash, who had been given another draught, but was still feverish. And Sira'aki, who had been more or less awake all night in order to keep watch over the patient.

"_Wrong," Jake repeated._

"What?" Santorelli asked softly.

For once, no-one was playing _garih. Not even KEdi'ir, who seemed to know that there were times when it was best to leave adults alone, and had long since learned that __garih was – unfortunately – a game for at least two people. So now the child sat in a tree, not that far from his sleeping mother, and kept watch, having decided that it was his turn._

It was a cheerless scene, with Tom being the only one looking even remotely content; he was having his ears scratched.

"This," Jake replied, gesturing indistinctly in a direction his arm chose on random.

"Care to be more… specific?"

"Jake's not used to seeing people slowly fade away," Rachel murmured lowly. She hugged Tom's head, where it lay on her lap, and rocked it back and forth for a moment before returning to scratching the beast's ears.

Jake gave his cousin a look, before glancing at Menderash, and finally made a movement that was a very rare combination of a nod and a shrug.

We shouldn't stay here, Tobias said, but not many listened. JaLa'an looked up, his expression showing that he agreed, but he kept silent. Tobias glared down at the rest of them from his perch. Rachel, at least, should have paid attention to him.

"Jake's not used to people dying on him," Rachel continued.

"It's happened," Jake said lowly. "But it's not something you _get used to."_

"He's not dead yet," Jeanne objected softly.

"Rachel?" Jake sighed.

Rachel hugged Tom's head again. "If he lives… well, right now he's so weak that I suspect he'll take weeks to recover fully. Perhaps more. He'll need peace and quiet and rest and more help than his pride would allow him to accept."

"And if not?"

"He'll be dead by nightfall," Rachel said blankly.

We _still shouldn't stay here, Tobias repeated, but still no-one listened._

"Even if he recovers, we don't have weeks to spare," Jake said. "I suppose we don't even have until nightfall, to be honest, for they'll be angry he's escaped, and probably search the woods. Therefore…"

_We! Shouldn't! Stay! Here! Tobias snapped, and this time people heard him._

Jake nodded, silently.

"Menderash'd only be worse of if we tried to move him," Rachel said, and Jeanne and Santorelli agreed in a set of murmurs.

"Still, if Melissa either betrays us or is caught, or they find Menderash's trail, then we're a sitting duck," Santorelli pointed out grimly. "So our choice is to stay here despite that, or… or risk one life to save many."

"Don't the Kelbrid have something they can give him?" Marco wondered. "Something to solve not being able to move him?"

Rachel spoke to JaLa'an. They talked for some time – Rachel was probably explaining what had been said – before JaLa'an reached into his bag. He pulled out a piece of carefully folded cloth, which he now unfolded to expose the contents; it looked like tangles of thin, dry, brownish-grey roots. His expression was questioning.

Rachel grimaced in disgust and twisted both Tom's and her own head away, saying a sharp "_Ra'art" that made JaLa'an fold the cloth again and return it to his bag._

What was that? Tobias asked privately.

"_Primlar," Rachel told him in a strange voice, and refused to explain further before she began speaking to JaLa'an again._

What is all the noise about? asked Menderash's faint thought-speech voice, and they were all more or less startled to realise that he was awake.

Jeanne was quickest to get over the initial surprise. She sank down to sit on the ground beside the _nothlit. "We are discussing what to do. We think we might be… pursued. Hunted."_

Could you… discuss more quietly?

Jeanne smiled faintly, but then had to ask; "Menderash, is there any family on your home planet… anyone who needs to know what happened to you?"

A flicker of pain – or perhaps regret – crossed Menderash's face, which was already creased with fever and dimmed agony. No… he said lowly. No family. No parents alive, and no wife, no sons, no daughters.

JaLa'an had kneeled down by his head and was trying to feed him what could best be described as 'mulch'. It was a thick, green, blue-tainted fluid, so Marco thought – in the back of his mind – that it might also be described as 'school food'. He grimaced but said nothing. If he made any comment, those unpredictable Kelbrid might decide _he needed some mulch. Yuck._

Marco realised that he was beginning to learn how to keep his mouth shut. He wondered if that was a good thing.

But Menderash obediently tried to eat the mulch. Fortunately he did not have to _chew it – he didn't have enough energy left to waste any on that._

Despite the fact that they all knew it was a bad idea to stay, no-one – not even Jake – spurred the rest of them into action to do any leaving. They sat around, waiting, perhaps not even knowing for what; silently staring either at the ground or into the woods. KEdi'ir, Sira'aki – when she woke – and Marco – in wolf morph – sat watch. Jake stood leaning against a tree, half asleep (still jolting awake, cross with himself, now and then), and Tobias had fluttered down to the ground and morphed human to sit with Rachel. That caused her to neglect scratching Tom's head, and the beast was most unhappy about that. He entertained himself by glaring viciously at Tobias and watching the reaction.

After almost two hours, when it was time to demorph, Tobias sighed, leaned sideways to kiss Rachel's forehead – and was violently shoved away by Tom. When he looked up again he was lying flat on his back, staring straight into Tom's mouth, getting a very good look of the beast's teeth. He had two heavy paws on his chest and couldn't breathe… couldn't breathe until…

"Oh, I'm _sick of this!" Rachel was at once on her feet and tore the beast aside with a brutal grip on his ear. Tom probably weighed about eight times more than the blinded Animorph, but he moved lightly when tugged at, as if he'd been no more hindrance to Rachel's hand than a rabbit. He then sank to the forest floor a meter or so away, tail motionless, flat on the ground behind him, ears laid back and head stretched out in front as he stared up at his human in surprise._

As Tobias began breathing again, Rachel waved a fist over the beast's face and he crawled together even more, shaking where he lay. He let out a low whine and crawled forwards to press a cold nose into Rachel's hand in submission, clearly begging her forgiveness. Rachel pulled away in anger and Tom shrank together even more, letting out a loud wail. Those watching could almost _feel the steady stream of despairing thoughts that were being transmitted from the kii-raja to his human._

And suddenly Rachel dropped to her knees and clasped both arms around the kii-raja's neck, burying her face against it. "I'm sorry, Tom," she whispered. "I know you don't understand… I just don't want you harming Tobias. I've told you to leave him alone. I've told you. I've _told you."_

Tom slowly stopped shaking as Rachel began scratching him beneath his chin and he nuzzled her face with his cold nose affectionately. Then he shoved playfully at her with a front paw – gently, of course, but the blow still made Rachel fall backwards. At once he had to be forgiven for that, too, upset with himself to the point of whining more, which he did not stop doing until Rachel agreed to rub his ears again.

By the time Rachel was allowed turn her attention away from her kii-raja, Tobias was already back in hawk morph. The scratches he had gotten on his chest from Tom's claws, and the (more alarming) ones on his face from the beast's teeth, were only a memory. Another memory was the vivid image of those teeth about to close around his head. He wouldn't get rid of that one for some time, he supposed.

"Are you okay, Tobias?" Rachel asked.

I'm fine, he told her, and watched her return her attention to playing with Tom, a mixture of different thoughts flying about in his head. He was unable to straighten them out, but he knew he was glad that his voice hadn't betrayed any of them.

"They say you shouldn't step between a kii-raja and his master," Jeanne said conversationally, but in such a low voice that only Tobias would hear her. She was standing beside his branch, also watching the kii-raja, who at the time – in Rachel's hands – seemed moderately harmless, like a tame but playful young lion that unfortunately had not yet realised how large he was growing.

So? Tobias snapped.

Jeanne glanced up at him, face unreadable even to the hawk's fierce gaze. "What I'm trying to say is that you're living dangerously, Tobias. I think Tom's beginning to notice. And he doesn't like it."

As Jeanne walked away, Tobias turned his head to look at Tom. The beast's ears were being scratched by Rachel, and he looked content. When Rachel stood up Tom followed, so close that his shoulder brushed past her arm for every step. She stopped by the pile of packs, found her own and began digging in it for something to eat, while Tom did what he usually did; combined being her eyes with baring his teeth at anything larger than a moth that came too close for his liking. Those around, though, by then knew him well enough to keep their distance, and for the moment the beast simply looked like a oversized dog, bored while his master was occupied elsewhere.

But when Rachel, having gathered enough food to be able to provide a light snack to the entire group, walked closer to Tobias's branch and signalled towards her shoulder for him to perch on, Tobias was very aware of the golden kii-raja's resentful, annoyed stare.

From having viewed the hawk as possible lunch, Tom had gone on to view him as a possible rival.

And Tobias was sure that it was not a change for the better.

They did not barge in. They were careful. Compared to the mass of them collected outside, only a small number came within tail's reach of the _Phantom, and only one came into it; and he stopped in the doorway._

He was a Kelbrid, no doubt about it. He had a very prominent scar, clearly visible on his face. He watched the group wordlessly for some time. His first word was; "Andalites."

Larynia (who – perhaps fortunately – didn't have a shredder) decided to reply. Raising her tail a bit more, she said; Yes. And you?

"You are not supposed to be here."

The translating chips in the heads of the _arisths and the scientist barely managed to translate that sentence, and the sentence that followed it was lost; the Kelbrid was speaking too quickly, too soon, and the language seemed complicated._

Could you… repeat that? Estrid asked.

The Kelbrid glared at her. "I have been told Andalites can understand any language."

After some time, yes, Estrid agreed.

_Who told __him that? Aralgo wondered in a private mutter. Okay, so the galaxy knows, but that's a strategic secret!_

"Then…" …and the rest was a blur.

Speak slowly, Estrid instructed. First, who are you?

Another glare. His black and white eyes flashed (black and white? Weren't Kelbrid eyes black and _green? Estrid thought). "I am Ka'an, __cer__ y'yhan, and I do not take orders from __you."_

You just did, Aralgo snickered. Privately, of course, Carali was glad to note. At least he had some sense.

"But that does not matter. _You are not supposed to be here. Since you are, we shall simply have to dispose of you – that is, kill you all." His eyes glittered, and the horns above his head twitched. "Good day." Ka'an left the doorway and four new Kelbrid appeared, probably to carry out Ka'an's calmly spoken orders._

Only four? Larynia muttered, almost sounding disappointed. Too easy. _Too easy._

And things happened quickly. The four Kelbrid advanced at once, more or less side by side, and suddenly one stumbled over one of Minalea's snare wires. Before the others could react, two of them fell over the two other wires. The last one leapt nimbly over his fallen friend – careful to keep the claws on his feet in order – to avoid tripping over him… and landed right inside the force field. He did not look too happy when he realised _that._

Too easy, Larynia repeated sadly as she, Estrid and Aralgo moved forwards to knock the three snared Kelbrid out. Minalea and Carali loosened the snares and kicked the aliens into the force field cage, lifting their limp horns in after them. Minalea then restored the snares. She was looking extremely pleased with herself.

Then Larynia leapt to the doorway. You'll have to do better than that, Ka'an! she yelled.

Ka'an's horns twitched above his head as he slowly raised his wrist blades. He acknowledged the challenge by clicking his claws against the floor. "Trust me, Andalite; I _shall."_

Larynia had no time to even wonder what was happening, but the next moment she was on the floor, outside the _Phantom, lying on her side with her front hooves bound by a horn, the other horn curled around her neck and the lower part of her head. A foot landed nimbly on her tail, just as she had been about to raise it. The blade was easily held down, secured by the cold, giant claw of that foot._

Another twitch of Ka'an's horns and she found herself looking straight up at him with her main eyes, though her stalks kept circling furiously.

"Good enough for you, Andalite?" the Kelbrid wondered, almost kindly.

Larynia kicked with her back hooves and twisted angrily, trying to break free, and spat in reply; You cheating, Yeerk-allied, parasite-friendly scum, _let me up and I'll show you 'good enough'!_

The horns twitched tugging her front legs violently to the side. Ka'an's eyes flashed – the slits on his cheeks flared in unmistakable anger. "We are _not allies of the Yeerks. Just so you know." He lowered a wrist-blade towards her throat, with the obvious intent to cut it open._

Neither are we, came Estrid's voice. You heard her; let her up. The scientist's shredder was aimed at Ka'an. She nodded her stalks towards it. You do know what this does, don't you?

Ka'an met her gaze without any traces of fear. "Yes. And _you do know that nearly three dozen Kelbrid have you only steps away from within horn's reach."_

Estrid looked slightly less secure. Aralgo, Carali and Minalea, right behind her, exchanged uncertain glances.

But we still have our ship, Olana reminded them all from inside the _Phantom._

"And we have _ours," Ka'an countered, motioning at the dozens of fighters that made up the sphere they were held in._

You know, Aralgo said conversationally, in private thought-speech, he _does have a point._

Estrid drew some courage. She'd been in a Yeerk pool. She'd been terrified, naturally, but compared to _that, this – being faced by this murderous Kelbrid – was nothing. So she told herself, at least._

Just let us go, she told Ka'an. Five _arisths and a scientist are no threat to you._

Ka'an's eyes narrowed; his gaze grew intense. "You are… _arisths?"_

"What did you think we were, the War Council?" Larynia snapped angrily, still twisting in order to try to break free. Of course we're _arisths!_

Ka'an's horns suddenly let go and he leapt back. "Go. Leave." He snapped a few orders at his surprised crew.

Now he knows what an _aristh is, Aralgo commented. Who __tells him these things?_

Larynia got back to her hooves in a fluent motion, tail cocked behind her. She backed slowly towards the _Phantom._

"Leave this quadrant of space," Ka'an ordered. "It is not safe here. You were lucky this time – others might not be so attentive."

Lucky? Carali questioned. You're… you're _letting us go?_

"Yes," Ka'an said, sounding annoyed.

But… _why?_

"You are only _arisths. I am a Kelbrid. Kelbrid do not kill children."_

We are _not children, you – Larynia began in a growl._

Very smart, Larynia, Aralgo grumbled as Ka'an's ears leaned outwards in a mysterious expression. _Very smart._

Ka'an, Estrid said suddenly. We… well, since you let us live, and you claim not to take the Yeerks' side, perhaps you can help us.

"Why should I help _you? I already did. I advised you to leave. That is all I can do." The Kelbrid seemed uninterested. _

Do you know of a creature who calls itself the One? Estrid persisted.

That caught Ka'an's complete attention. His cheek-slits flared, and his eyes narrowed, focusing on Estrid. "Yes," he admitted finally. "The One – the Whole… master over the Yeerks and the Touched. What do you want with _him?"_

He holds a friend of mind prisoner, Estrid continued. An Andalite, like us… he's known as Aximili.

"Aximili-Esgarrouth-Isthill." Ka'an nodded.

The eyes of the group of Andalites – stalks included – stared dumbly at Ka'an. No-one could figure out anything to say before Minalea's; Well, well, _well. I knew your cousin was famous, Larynia, but __this… this was unexpected._

The Kelbrid's ears leaned outwards again at their expressions. "Many seem eager to free him."

Who else? Larynia wondered sharply.

"I am not certain I should tell you," Ka'an said. "I still do not know who _you are." And he added, more coldly; "And I would appreciate if you let my warriors out."_

Olana removed the force field, at an impatient signal from Estrid. They moved aside to let the Kelbrid out. Only one was properly awake; he pulled two of his friends along with his horns, and helped the other – who was dazed – to walk. Larynia managed the introductions while they waited. I am Aximili's cousin, Larynia-Talene-Sirinial. These are my friends, Olana-Soiru-Jinala and Minalea-Silinan-Alareim. Also, Carali-Sarthantir-Malar, and Aralgo-Karfur-Emonrili. And of course, the scientist; Estrid-Corill-Darrath.

"And how do you… _Estrid… know Aximili?" asked Ka'an with notable interest, pronouncing Estrid's name as __e'estri__._

I met him on Earth, Estrid replied.

Ka'an's ears leaned out even more. "I was wrong to ask you to leave. We have common enemies, and you are _limith__ y'limith…" (The translating chips turned that into 'friends-of-friends', which in truth was a rough translation, since 'friend' is a very multidimensional word in the Kelbrid language, and can mean anything between 'person one can stand on a good day' to 'person one would trust one's life to'.) "…and now you are also out guest – if you wish to be." There was a note of questioning in his normally harsh voice._

We will consider it, Estrid told him. Our ship would not be harmed by a rest.

Ka'an nodded. His horns had curled into coils above his head and his stance was much less hostile. The other Kelbrid followed his example. "Then return to your ship. We will lead you to our home. Follow if you wish."

He turned and started to move away, giving orders to the Kelbrid around him as he did so, but Estrid stopped him by calling out; Then who are these common friends you speak of?

Ka'an did not turn around, but he answered; "Surely, scientist, you have heard of Rachel the Animorph?"

Estrid's back legs almost folded beneath her in shock. Impossible: Rachel was dead!

But as if he had read her thoughts, Ka'an continued; "No, she is not dead. She is very much alive. And so are the other Animorphs."

They are here? Estrid whispered.

"Nearby," Ka'an told her. "Will you come with us, or not?"

Estrid nodded. Yes, she murmured, forgetting to ask the others about it until it was too late. Even then, she thought she would simply have to convince them. Yes, we shall come.

Captain Jake? Menderash murmured suddenly.

Jake's eyes were open and focused on the motionless _nothlit. It was easy to believe the voice had been imagined – or had come from someone else, somewhere else. "Yes?"_

Do not… do not forget to save Prince Aximili. It is what we came for.

"I won't forget, Menderash. Ax is my friend. We'll save him… or all our bones will adorn this part of the universe."

Menderash had never been the smiling type, but now there was a flicker of a smile on his pale face. But then it was gone. I hope you do not fail, as I have.

You haven't failed, Marco told him.

I have not succeeded. Therefore –

"Don't think that way," Jake snapped. "That'll only depress you. If we'd thought that way back on Earth, saying we'd failed before the fight was over, the universe would look very different today, and we'd probably all have been Controllers."

And you accuse _him of being depressing, muttered Marco._

Jake shook his head. "Just… don't think that way."

Is that an order, Captain? Menderash wondered.

"Yes. Yes, it is."

Then it shall be as you say. Although there is… one more thing that you should be aware of.

"What?" Jake asked.

The One… he is after the Andalites. My people, my home world. _Warn them. Menderash's eyes opened and his gaze bored into Jake._

Jake shuddered, for some reason, but then nodded. "I will."

He is also wants Earth, and the humans.

Sharp eyes turned towards the _nothlit from all around. The scene was so silent that one could almost __hear how Marco's expression darkened dangerously._

"That… that _thing… is after our planet?" Santorelli said finally._

Yes.

"Which means he's got a couple of nasty weeks ahead of him..." Jeanne predicted in a vicious growl.

Menderash ignored that and continued; But there is a more urgent peril. He plans to achieve that goal through _you, Captain._

"Through _Jake?" Marco repeated grimly. His eyes grew very, very narrow; one could almost see the wheels spinning in his head. "So he thinks Jake would provide access where his minions can't get in. He plans to use him as… as some sort of key."_

Precisely, Menderash confirmed, looking relieved that he did not have to explain.

"He can _forget it," snapped Rachel in a snarling voice. "Nobody's using my cousin for anything. Except possibly Cassie."_

"_Rachel!" Jake protested._

"Shut up, Jake."

"Don't I have a say in that?" asked the Animorphs leader.

"Not really. Why? Were you planning to _volunteer to help the One?"_

Marco was smiling, despite the situation, looking back and forth between Jake and Jake's cousin.

"Of course not," Jake said. He shook his head in exasperation as he made the wise decision to let the topic drop. Then he rubbed his forehead, and turned back to Menderash; "Thanks for the warning, Menderash. We'll warn your people – don't worry. We'll warn our own, too."

Menderash's eyes closed again. Just be very careful, he sighed mentally. The One is stronger than he seems.

"I already knew to be careful," Jake muttered. "I just didn't know the One was after _me."_

"It complicates things," Santorelli said.

"Not at all," Jake replied with a strange, cold smile. "Whatever he's after, we're after bringing him down."

But first, we want the _Rachel back, Tobias said._

Jake nodded. "We get our ship back – having it is an advantage we can't afford to overlook. We'll need it in any case to leave."

"With Melissa," Rachel reminded him.

"With Melissa," Jake agreed. "If we find her – or she finds us – in time."

"We can't leave without her!"

"But we can't wait a few days for her to show up, either," Jake pointed out. "Rachel; don't worry. We've promised we'll help her get home – we'll keep that promise. The way things are looking right now, we need to head back for Ax later, anyway, so – worst case scenario – we'll pick her up then."

Rachel hesitated, but finally nodded. "Let's just hope she sees things the same way."

"Why shouldn't she?" Jake asked, but Rachel only shrugged and gave no reply.

As Menderash had nothing more to say, and no-one felt the need to add anything, silence again descended over the group. The afternoon fled. The sun began its weary path down from the sky. Night fell.

And without a sound, Menderash died.

Wake up, my dear.

The One prodded at the sleeping mind, not bothering to even consider if he was doing it gently. He felt the stirring of thoughts, quickly followed by fear – oh, how he savoured the fear – and finally the rebellious anger. Then the mind blanched, trying to pretend to still be asleep.

I know you are awake, little Andalite, purred the One. Now, open your eyes.

The mind tried to resist. It was useless, naturally. Her eyes opened. Her sight displayed the inside of a space ship – still that space ship, still from inside that force field. How boring.

One Andalite was on the bridge. The One felt a sneer of contempt. One of the Andalite's stalks had noted the slight movement in the Chosen's corner, and was now watching her with that stalk while he worked. His tail inched up, slowly, as he saw the intense green in the trapped Touched's eyes and the arrogant sneer that spread over her face.

The One laughed silently to himself. So easily manipulated – so predictable. It was almost tiresome.

He felt the mind stirring again, about to say something, but the One shoved her back and snapped at her to be silent. Of course she resented that. Of course – but it did not matter. She had to do as she was told.

Leave her alone, One, came the Andalite's soft but menacing voice, seeing the Chosen's pained grimace as her rebellion failed.

The One used Arayah's voice to reply; Why should I? I _own this mind. Why should I leave it alone?_

The Andalite turned away from his work and moved closer to the force field, still moving slowly. Wrong. You will have to let go, sooner or later. Of her… and our Captain. For you are but a parasite, and parasites can be driven out.

The One laughed. His 'host' was lying on the floor, still with her hands and tail shackled, but as he stared up at the Andalite outside the force field he saw that that did not matter. The Andalite was still affected by his green gaze – he still shrunk away.

When the One's laughter faded he searched Arayah's mind for a name to that Andalite. And said; Driven out? Perhaps. But what for? Do you want her for yourself, Jakari?

Jakari's face twisted with anger and alarm. He jerked forwards but then caught himself and stopped, just clear of the force field. His four eyes were glaring with intense loathing – laughable, thought the One. As if there was anything he could do.

How interesting. I may have struck a nerve… he said gleefully.

The only nerves to be struck are you own, sneered the Andalite in foolish response. Hope that they are strong, One, for when they fail you will be screaming.

For a moment the One was silent. Then… You want screaming? he wondered, his voice dangerously low. I shall arrange screaming.

He gave a curt order to the mind beneath his own and then withdrew from it. Before he managed to set up a boundary between it and his own, he could feel the sudden, stabbing pain he had caused, feel the spasm through the body that couldn't avoid it, and hear the heart-wrenching thought-speech cry the mind couldn't stop. He relished it; all of it. But most of all, he relished the near-panic on the helplessly watching Andalite outside the force field, that he had been able to glimpse just as the boundary fell.

He was very pleased with himself as he seeped back into his own shape, into the dimensions he now lived in, and the form he had come to use more and more lately.

Aximili, the Andalite Prince.

Oh, yes, he thought privately to himself, he might be a parasite. He fed of off others – fed off their dimensions, to be able to expand his own. But he was not driven away easily. He did not starve after three days, to begin with, unlike the weakly Yeerks.

The groggy mind beneath his own felt his mood and thoughts as he went through what had happened.

Leave her alone, the mind muttered feebly. 

Or you'll do what? chuckled the One. _You are even more helpless than that Andalite._

But the foolish creature built up strength to try to rebel, and said; Leave –

The One beat him down. A wonder, those Andalites; they never learned.

He supposed their stiff-neckedness (and sometimes sheer stupidity) was for the best. At least they kept him entertained.

_Jake's falcon eyes easily made out the contours of the familiar Blade ship. It rested on its meadow, looking like a dangerous lizard warming itself in the sun. The newly dug pool was beside it, and even from a distance Jake could see the Yeerks swimming in it. He landed, just in among the trees, just hidden from sight, and demorphed._

_There were no guards. He knew that. In fact, he was the only creature in the area – except for the Yeerks in the pool. Therefore he was able to stroll out into clear view, cautious but unworried._

_But suddenly, he was no longer alone._

_"Jake!"_

_He turned towards the voice. Cassie took his arm, beaming up at him. At least, he thought she was beaming; he couldn't make out her face._

_"You're here," she said. "You made it. Come on now, there's no time to waste…"_

_She began pulling him towards the pool._

**_Towards the pool._****__**

_"Ca-Cassie!" he stuttered, digging his heels into the ground, trying to stop.__ But Cassie pulled on relentlessly, unnaturally strong._

_"I wasn't sure you'd show up," she continued, ignoring his protests as if they did not even exist._

_"What –"_

_"I mean, of course, if you consider things…"_

_"Stop –"_

_"Don't worry, Jake." She stopped, glanced up at his face, and smiled. Her face, which was turned right at him, lay in shadow, as if a wall of thick fog had been pulled between them; he couldn't understand why. But he knew that she was smiling. He knew it, in his gut; something in the back of his mind fluttered, telling him that she was smiling, she was happy; that was all that mattered, the world was a perfect place and he should be delighted about it. _

_"They're waiting," she announced._

_"Who?"___

_But at once he knew. Around him stood the familiar cages of the Yeerk pool. In the cages were the Animorphs. Tobias sat on an artificial perch, turned away; Ax's blue silhouette stood further away. Marco waved at him, though Jake couldn't make out his expression._

_"Rachel's already on the pier," Cassie told him. "Look."_

_She pointed towards the pier, and Jake watched his cousin step out on it, bold as always, and then look down into the sludgy waters as if doubting something. But as she kneeled and lifted her hair over her shoulder to keep it out of her way, there were no traces of doubt in her face. Jake had to turn away; he couldn't watch._

_Didn't have to.__ He was no longer watching Rachel on the pier; he **was on the pier. He and Cassie. Cassie was already dropping down by the edge, preparing to –**_

**_Wrong__._**

_He started forwards with a cry of "**No!" Cassie jerked back, stared up at him with her eyes wide, sudden fear in her expression. Now her face was clear to him; the whites of her widened eyes, contrasting with the darker eyelashes just above;  the lines of her nose and mouth; and the way her lips tensed in alarm, with her mouth just slightly open, as if trying to say something. He stretched a hand down to grab her shoulder, pull her up to him, away from the pool, and to safety.**_

_His hand met only air. Or did his hands **turn ****into air? He did not know. His gaze found two almond-shaped, green Andalite eyes in a cold, bored face. The Andalite swiped with the flat of his blade at Cassie's knees and she fell heavily into the water, in amongst the waiting Yeerks.**_

_"See?" the Andalite said dryly to Jake, in spoken speech. "In the end you still have to use force."_

His eyes jerked open. The first thing they saw was a kneeling Rachel and he flew to his feet, alarmed, and started forwards with a strangled cry.

Hand grabbed his left arm and swung him back around. When he made an attempt to free himself the grip only tightened painfully.

"Jake, calm down!" Marco said as he shook the Animorph leader by both shoulders.

Jake glanced back, seeing Tom who was up and glaring menacingly at him. Rachel had kneeled to pet her kii-raja. At Jake's sudden movement, Tom had flown up. Rachel sat next to the beast, one hand on his front paw – all she needed to restrain him – with a curious expression on her face.

There was no pool. No Yeerks.

Jake sank to his knees and buried his face in his hands. This… the lack of sleep, the dreams, and now hallucinations… this could not be good.

"Jake?" Rachel's voice came, and he felt a hand on his shoulder. "What happened?"

Jake raised his face from his hands and drew a long, quivering sigh. "I wish I knew. I thought I saw…"

"Thought you saw what?" Marco asked.

"Never mind," muttered Jake. He looked around, seeing that both Jeanne and Santorelli were asleep; more or less. Tobias sat on a branch, obviously woken by Jake's sudden movement, and now watching the scene with some interest. The Kelbrid were out of sight; so was Menderash's body. Very well; Rachel had said the Kelbrid would take care of the burial, so he was not really surprised.

He clenched his jaws when thinking about the _nothlit, but then forced the unavoidable thoughts out of his mind. He'd think about that later. Not now. He'd think about that after they'd retaken the _Rachel_, when they'd freed Ax. Then he'd worry about Menderash. Now, there was nothing he could do, and wallowing in guilt and what-ifs would not help; it might even cost him another of his people._

He turned to creep back towards his abandoned blankets. He had the second shift that night; it was best to get some sleep before that. But he had barely snuggled down on his place, under those blankets – which was only minimally warmer than the surrounding air – when Rachel's voice woke him again.

"Melissa's coming back," was all she said.

Jake lifted his head. He gave a short nod at Marco's questioningly raised eyebrows, and trusted Rachel and Marco to deal with the new arrival. Personally, he just lowered his head back down to rest on his arm, and tried to sleep some more.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Author's Note;

A long chapter. Hm. I only read through this quickly, so if there are any mistakes left I won't be surprised. I might as well admit it; _I'm_ bored with this chapter. Can't wait for the next one. Or, more properly; the one a few chapters ahead.

Only one more thing; I was wondering exactly how many people are reading this. I would really appreciate if everyone who did would notify me - in some way - so I can count you, and see if I won or lost a bet with a… hm…  _friend of mine._


	34. Why Jake fears sleep

Why Jake fears sleep

"Wake up."

The voice belonged to Rachel. Santorelli stirred, then opened his eyes and looked around. He sat up. "It's morning," he commented.

Rachel nodded. "Or will be, in another hour. It's only dawn now. But we've got work to do."

"But…" Santorelli frowned. "Who took my sentry shift?"

The blind girl shrugged. "I don't know – Jake, perhaps. Marco was first, but I think Jake took over early. I fell asleep late myself, and I heard those two moving about. At least, Tom did."

"You mean Jake nearly didn't sleep _at all_?"

"There was always Jeanne's shift…"

"Jeanne was supposed to have been after me," Santorelli said.

Rachel's face twisted into a grimace – that quickly disappeared again. "We'll have to keep an eye on him about that. He needs his sleep, just as all of us. Too much Fearless Leader-nonsense again."

Santorelli caught sight of Melissa, quietly asleep at the edge of camp, knees pulled up towards her and arms wrapped around herself and her blankets. She did not seem to be sleeping easily, frowning and mumbling silently in her sleep. "When did she arrive?"

"Just after you fell asleep." Not noticing the way Santorelli's eyes were narrowed, Rachel went to wake Marco. Tom was lying at a distance, watching her, and telling her in his usual private thought-pictures where she was and what was around her.

"Wake up," Rachel ordered as she kneeled by the sleeping Marco's side.

Marco didn't move.

Rachel turned him over, and let Tom have a better look. "You're already awake," she concluded.

"Not likely," Marco muttered and turned away again.

"Time to rise and shine," Rachel continued. "Sun's been up already, for all of… about seven minutes. Anyway, we've got work to do. So get up!"

"Bite me," the sleepy Animorph replied bluntly.

"_I_ won't," Rachel told him cheerfully. "But maybe Tom will."

Marco was instantly awake, sitting up alertly. Rachel chuckled to herself as she moved on to Melissa, Sira'aki and KEdi'ir.

Breakfast consisted of small rations of _kul'lj_. Melissa declined her share, with the expression of someone who, used to living on hamburgers and pizza, suddenly was offered seaweed and sushi. Rachel sent Tom hunting, for he had been complaining about hunger for the last day or so.

The fact that Menderash-Postill-Fastill was no longer with them hung like a dark cloud in the back of everyone's mind, and everyone did their best to ignore it. Marco sat reciting jokes from _Airplane!_ in an attempt to cheer everyone up – until Rachel, tired of hearing the same joke coming up for the third time, growled at him to shut up. Tom, naturally, made sure Marco did as he was told, and after that a thick silence hung over the site.

But everyone agreed that it was time to take action concerning their mission. (Melissa did not in fact actually _agree_, keeping her silence, but she made no objections.) And first on their to-do list was to retake their ship, since Melissa had said the One was somewhere else – and revealed, in a smug conspiring whisper, that she had arranged for it to be filled with supplies.

You told us earlier where the ship was, Tobias recalled, speaking to the former Controller – former Touched – but letting everyone in on what he was saying. Three _gi'im_ west of the Blade ship – whatever a _gi'im_ is.

"A _gi'im_ is the distance one can travel in a day, if one keeps good speed and doesn't stop more than an hour or so to rest," Rachel told them – and then smiled. "But you used the word wrongly, Mel. You shouldn't say 'three _gi'im_'. You say '_gimah_', which is '_gi'im_' in the third plural – a _gi'im_ times three."

"And if it was four _gi'im_?"  Jeanne asked.

"You'd either say two _gi'ih_ – _gi'im _in the second plural – or four _gi'i_ – _gi'im_ in the unspecified plural. But then you'd have to figure out a way to say 'four'… it's easiest to use the second plural of two, or three plus one, or five minus one. Kelbrid count by using addition, subtraction and different plurals of the primes."

"Kelbrid like their plurals, don't they?" Marco commented.

Rachel nodded. "Oh yes. And every single one of them is irregular. Those things used to drive me half mad."

"Rachel. You've always been half mad," Marco joked.

Rachel simply shrugged. "Then I've still got half to go…" she grinned at Marco.

"Excuse me," Jake interrupted in a serious manner before Marco had a chance to reply. "But when, exactly, did this conversation switch to lessons in Kelbrid grammar and how mad my cousin is?"

"I think it was when Tobias wondered what 'three _gi'im_' was," Jeanne supplied helpfully.

"_Gimah_," Rachel corrected in a murmur.

Jake ignored Rachel and gave Jeanne a stare that a kii-raja would have been proud of. "_Thank_ _you_, Jeanne. Very useful," he said dryly.

"You're welcome," Jeanne said, smiling a pleased-with-self smile.

Jake shook his head. But still, just getting there would take three-four days, for we're about a day's travel away from the Blade ship ourselves – I'm not sure what direction, but it's definitely not west.

Speaking of that, does anyone have a compass? Tobias wondered. For where _is_ west?

"We need an Andalite for this," Santorelli muttered lowly, shaking his head.

There was a moment of silence.

"I know where west is," Melissa said finally.

"But four days…" Jeanne sighed.

"Not necessary," Rachel said.

"What? But if a _gi'im_ is –"

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Honestly. _Think_. We've still got the fighters. We'll be there in less than an hour."

The fighters are in the lake, Tobias said. I know you've probably got some way to get them out, but the lake isn't too close either.

Rachel only smiled secretively. "Wait and see."

I don't like this, Aralgo said, shifting his weight uncomfortably back and forth between his hooves.

Why not? Larynia wondered.

I just… don't like it. I mean, the Kelbrid _are_ our enemies. And they _were_ planning to kill us. And suddenly – _this_?

But we had no choice, Estrid commented. First of all, our ship needs to reload again, and this is probably the closest habitable planet. Second, we need to find out how Ka'an, a Kelbrid, knows so much – or anything at all – about the Andalites… and the Animorphs.

What _are_ the Animorphs? Carali asked suddenly. And who is that… that Rachel?

Estrid stared at him, accompanied by Larynia, Olana and Minalea.

You really don't know? Minalea said finally in a flat voice.

No, Carali muttered. Should I?

I don't know, either, Aralgo revealed, backing his friend up. Never heard of it.

_Them_, Olana corrected.

Then Minalea suddenly flicked her tail. Now I get it. You were at the Academy when Earth was freed, right?

Yes, Aralgo responded.

Larynia huffed loudly. _I_ know because… because Aximili is my cousin. And I, of course, told my friends. But now that you mention it… the Academy never mentioned anything beyond Earth liberated, Prince Aximili – Elfangor's brother – involved, and Visser One defeated. And of course it was all the Fleet's accomplishments.

Estrid's eyes had narrowed dangerously. They actually made you believe _that_?

Something like it, yes, Carali said. Aralgo and I were in the first of our last two years, so we were in isolated training. No contact with anyone except teachers and _aristh_s at our own level.

We entered isolation the year after, but personally I never got through it, Larynia said grimly. Three months in, they kicked me out.

There was a short but curious moment of silence during which Estrid privately wondered whether anyone would dare to ask _why_. Minalea and Olana probably knew, of course, but they said nothing.

The Academy is of course very concerned with what we _aristh_s think of the fleet, Olana murmured instead. They want us to believe in our own superiority. We are to be totally convinced that the Fleet is invincible, and that the members of the War Council are gods.

What – _they aren't_?! Aralgo cried in fake-shock.

So they couldn't let you believe that outsiders, mere humans, had saved Earth, Estrid finished dryly, ignoring Aralgo.

Humans saved Earth? Carali wondered.

Yes.

Aralgo was frowning. There was a rumour… that humans had acquired the morphing power. Has that…

Something to do with it? Estrid nodded. Yes. The Animorphs, whose final member was our very own Prince Aximili, were five human youngsters who were given the morphing power.

By another of my cousins, Larynia revealed. The one known as Elfangor.

_Elfangor_? Aralgo spluttered, all four eyes wide. _The_ Elfangor? Prince Elfangor? As in, _the_ Prince El –

Same one, Larynia said smugly.

I did not know _Elfangor_ gave them the morphing power, Estrid admitted. But then again, there is much I don't know. I _do_ know that these humans were joined by Aximili and together they saved Earth.

So Elfangor broke _Seerow's Kindness_, Carali murmured. He was not looking happy about having realised that.

Which saved Earth, Estrid reminded him.

And probably our own planet, too, Larynia added. Aximili… explained that. The Fleet probably knows as well…

But they didn't feel any need to inform us lowly _aristh_s, Aralgo growled. He sent a stalk in Larynia's direction. Care to explain?

Earth has a population of above six billion, and growing. Also, excellent resources. With Earth as a Yeerk base, under Yeerk control, we would not have stood half a chance.

_Still_, Carali insisted solemnly. Elfangor broke _Seerow's Kindness_. He actually –

Oh, hush, Carali, Minalea snapped, swatting at his shoulder to make him silence. He broke a Law. So what? _I've_ broken Laws. Come to think of it – she giggled – I've probably broken _Seerow's Kindness_ at some point as well.

Carali stared at her, face white.

Well, continued the prankster, I can't be sure, now can I? I can't be expected to keep track of everything…

Carali continued staring, his face now the pale colour of a grey moon, and the tip of his tail shaking.

Oh, calm down, Minalea grinned, although there was something pleading in her voice. No big deal.

We are landing, Olana announced, drawing Estrid's and the other _aristh_s' attention away as Minalea slipped her hand into Carali's, realising that he had absolutely no sense of humour. She smiled at him as he gave her hand a gentle reassuring squeeze before letting go.

The group watched the dozens of Kelbrid fighters that were their guides – escort – _guards?_ – descend onto the surface of a planet. The _Phantom_ followed, its slender cobra-like form looking like a clumsy _ginoren _next to the small, perfectly shaped arrowhead fighters.

They had already decided that, guests or not, they were going to be living in their ship. So when they opened the door to re-greet Ka'an they carried nothing with them – not even their shredders, although neither Larynia, Carali or Aralgo would have minded the extra security of that weapon.

"Well met and welcome to Cava'ara, Andalites," said the Kelbrid. There was something in his tone that suggested that he had never thought he would utter that sentence.

Thank you, Estrid thanked, stepping out of the _Phantom_, followed by the curious but wary _aristh_s.

Ka'an's eyes glittered. "First, as I can see you do not trust us – with good reason, mayhap – I wish to show you something."

What? Estrid asked.

"I know how you know Rachel," the Kelbird said in his eternally rising and falling voice, now sounding amused. "You do not know how _I_ know her. I shall tell you; this planet, Cava'ara, is her _home_. Come, Andalites. Allow me to prove my words and show you her home."

_Even as he spoke he knew he was lying. "It's not that bad."_

_"I know, but –"_

_But there was nothing he could do. "You might even like it. It's a matter of habit, actually, and companionship, and…"_

_"Yes, though –"_

_The words came anyway, whether he liked it or not, together with a comforting smile. "Why are you being so stubborn about it? It won't hurt. I promise. You'll be fine."_

_"I'm not –"_

_He tried to stop them, the cursed words, but his mouth and body would not obey him; it argued with him and won. "Just listen to me. We all take great care of newcomers, and you'll lack nothing. Sure, there's that –"_

_"But, Jake –"_

_She didn't want to. Why did he keep insisting in that case? **Why**? Yet he continued as if he hadn't even heard her. "There's that extra trip every third day, but, as said, it's a matter of habit."_

_She was wavering. He could see it in the way she bit into her lower lip, glancing up at him uncertainly. Why was she wavering? Because **he** was telling her to. Because she **trusted** him. Because –_

_"Why are you so against it, then?" he continued, taking her hands and squeezing them, searching out her gaze and holding it. "It's not like the possibility never even struck you, I mean, of course it has – it's struck us all, once or twice. Just give in. Give in and there'll be no more fighting, no more –"_

_"Jake, why are you –"_

_He wondered himself, but he felt his eyes shine happily. "I've seen the better side. I've been shown that we don't have to fight. Why fight those who welcome us with open arms? Cassie, the peaceful way out is always –"_

_She wavered even more, glancing to the side, towards the chair. He took a gentle grip around her shoulders and began leading her towards it. He wanted to dig his heels into the floor to stop it, but his heels refused to obey. He felt as if he was in a cage and roaring at the bars in a feeble attempt to escape as the cage moved closer and closer to damnation, and he himself moved closer and closer to madness._

_Still… "Come on. I'll help you. We'll all help you."_

_She let herself be led towards the chair and coaxed down to sit on it. She smiled weakly up at him as he secured her hands and neck in their respective straps._

_"Now, if you'd just lean your head to the side…" he said, giving her head a nudge, and she obediently lay it down into the sickly fluids, still smiling up at him, trusting him. **Trusting him**. "There," he continued, giving her cheek a tender caress. "There, good girl… you'll enjoy being a host."_

"Here we are," Rachel said, drawing out a small object form her bag. She held it out on her palm for everyone to see. It was cubical, black, and just small enough for someone with large hands to close a fist about. It was also adorned by a big button on the upside.

"Oh," Melissa muttered, but curiously. "One of _those_."

"What is it?" Santorelli asked.

It looks like a toy, Tobias remarked.

"It's a remote control," Rachel told them. "But all it can do is to call for the fighter."

"Oh." Marco picked it out of Rachel's hand and studied it more closely. Tom glared at him. "So all you have to do is to push this –" His finger was bearing down on the button.

"_Don't_!" Rachel snapped, and Marco's button-pushing movement ceased. Rachel yanked the black cube back, and flicked the button aside – for it was not a button, it was a _lid_.

"Not a button?" Marco guessed.

"Oh, it's a button alright," Rachel said. "But if you push _that_, the entire thing blows up in your face. Just in case someone tries to steal my fighter. _Ha_." She grinned. "That'd teach them to steal my fighter."

"Clever," Jeanne approved.

Rachel nodded. "A tip for the future; on Kelbrid fighter remotes, _do not _do the obvious. No pushing buttons, flicking switches, pulling strings. The result varies from boom to poison injection, but none of it is pleasant."

"And you, of course, chose the boom," Marco said with fake nonchalance.

Rachel grinned again. "What did you expect? I like booms. The bigger, the better." She made a short gesture at her kii-raja, and frowned for a moment, as she was listening to his reply. She grimaced. "I was just about to turn to Jake and ask if we need the fighters right away, but… obviously not."

Jake's asleep, Tobias said.

Marco's head whipped around. There was, for a moment, alarm on his face but then it was drowned in relief. "Finally."

Jake half-sat, half-lay leaning against a tree, just behind them all, and had fallen asleep without anyone noticing. His face was turned away, hiding his expression.

"That's what happens when you insist on taking all sentry duty yourself," Santorelli huffed. "Fine, letting everyone else sleep isn't a bad idea, but it doesn't work out well in the end."

"Except he didn't let everyone else sleep," Marco muttered. "He asked me to stay awake to keep him away. I failed, but he woke me up about seven times to talk him back to full consciousness."

"That's why you were awake this morning," Rachel said.

"Correct," Marco admitted, glancing towards the Animorph leader. "But he needs _that_. He hasn't slept properly for two nights."

"Why not?" Jeanne wondered, a frown of concern on her forehead.

"Because of Menderash?" Rachel guessed softly. "But he should know better than to take the blame for _that_ on himself."

Marco shook his head. He snuck a suspicious glance at Melissa. "No, not guilt. Not this time. It's… well, our Fearless Leader has been… having nightmares." He grimaced. "And technically I wasn't supposed to tell you."

"_Nightmares_?" Melissa echoed.

"Yes, _nightmares_. Bad dreams. Every time he closes his eyes, he claims. That's why he's been taking all the sentry shifts; he doesn't _want_ to sleep." 

"Bad dreams about what?" Jeanne asked.

"Cassie," Marco told the group in a low voice. "And I shouldn't be telling you that, either, but… he keeps dreaming of Cassie. Always different scenario, but always the same. It's all about someone trying to harm Cassie – someone trying to _infest_ Cassie."

"Do those two have a history?" Melissa wondered. "Jake and Cassie, I mean."

"Yep," Marco confirmed. "But after the war it descended into three years of 'I'm just about to call her'."

"Typical," huffed Melissa, while Rachel frowned disapprovingly in Jake's general direction.

There was silence. It was broken by Tobias, who finally said; Trying to infest Cassie. Like when it all started. Like that first time in the Pool. Remember? That Controller-cop who'd caught her?

Rachel nodded, stroking Tom's head with one hand and fingering the remote control to her fighter with her other. "Jake wasn't happy _then_. But… why would he be so worried about her now? She's on Earth. She's safe there. That's why he left her behind."

"I think it's more complex than that," Marco said softly. "There's something not quite right about the way he's been getting these dreams. Last time he woke, he said that it felt as if someone was going through and showing him all the possible scenarios where Cassie's about to be infested. As if he's supposed to study them, learn them."

"But every time I can't help her," Jake's grim voice suddenly came from behind them. His eyes were focused, annoyed, on Marco. "I shouldn't have told you."

Marco gaped for a second, but then closed his mouth and glared back at Jake. "They might need to know, too. And besides, weren't you _asleep_?"

"It wasn't _your_ place to tell them," Jake snarled. "And yes, I was asleep. _Was_. For that's the problem with this. I _can't_ sleep. I _can't_, because I only wake up again, and before that I see _her_, and…" his voice faded and he sat staring at his empty hands, which he had laid on his lap. Then he closed his eyes and continued in a strangled whisper; "…_and I can't help her_."

"One moment," Ka'an said, when Estrid was about to follow the other _aristh_s towards the large tree where two other Kelbrid – introduced as A'akul and Pa'arik (the latter of which was being flanked by a large, golden creature with a nasty row of spikes along his spine) – led them.

Estrid stopped, turning halfway. Carali and Larynia hesitated as well, their stalks quizzical as they wondered what she was stopping for. She motioned for them to go on, and then looked at Ka'an with all four eyes. But she quickly let her stalks start swivelling again; being surrounded by the curious but wary Kelbrid made her nervous.

Ka'an waited until the other Andalites were out of earshot, and then spoke in an expressionless voice; "_They_ may be youngsters, scientist, but _you_ are not." The word _scientist_ was in fact spoken in English, and pronounced _zi'entis_. Estrid did not realise this until later, as her translating chip smoothed out the border between the two languages. When she did realise it she wondered if perhaps there was no word for _scientist_ in the Kelbrid language, which puzzled her.

But at the time, she composed her features into a carefully unconcerned expression. Perhaps not, she admitted stiffly.

"You are honest. Good." Taking note of her expression his ears leaned outwards. "Do not worry – that you are not a youngster is no reason to have you killed. I am a warrior, Andalite, not a murderer. I kill intruders, not guests." His black, white-pupilled eyes glittered. "And we have common enemies, _li'ith y'limith_. You are lucky to have come this way. Yeerks do not come to Cava'ara."

Why not? Estrid asked, remembering her surprise when the Andalite-Controllers had simply given up the chase.

"Because our sun emits particles that break down Kandrona. They starve."

And therefore, Olana's sudden freedom, Estrid concluded at once.

"That is why we remain here," Ka'an continued. "_We_ will not be taken as the Gedds, or Hork-Bajir, or bribed as the Taxxons." His voice dropped in pitch as he added; "Unfortunately, most Kelbrid are taken by another. They are Touched, Chosen, but one who directs them, controls them, abuses them. They are shackled by the One."

The One, Estrid repeated, and shuddered. I have met him. We did not get along very well.

"You have met him, opposed him, and yet you live? _Kanifach, _scientist, _kanifach_."

Estrid's translating chip told her that 'kanifach' was a way to both praise and cheer someone on. She had the feeling that it was used only rarely.

Then Ka'an turned again. "Now follow me. I shall lead you to the others."

"So the plan is basically this," Jake said. He was pacing back and forth through the small clearing as he spoke. "We move when dark falls, because Kelbrid don't see much in the dark. They only see movement. We pack into the fighters and are set down about a kilometre from the _Rachel_, in groups, with Jeanne and Marco out first to scout the area around the ship as owls. When the second group arrives we meet up with them, send JaLa'an, Sira'aki, and KEdi'ir home, and we start working on the guards. Rachel and Tobias will be out with the _Hawk_ causing a distraction closer to the Blade ship to keep the Yeerks' main focus elsewhere away, and we either sneak past or take care of the guards we find. Anyone lost yet?"

"Yep," Marco admitted. "What was the plan again?"

Jake gave him a sharp stare. A weary stare. A I'm-too-tired-to-deal-with-any-of-your-nonsense stare.

Marco kept silent after that.

"Once we've got the ship, we are officially leaving," Jake finished.

Melissa smiled broadly in eager happiness and relief at that.

"When are the fighters arriving?" Jeanne asked.

"In another minute or so," Rachel replied offhandedly.

"When you're up in the _Hawk_, can I borrow Tom again?"

Rachel's face went blank, but her eyes sparkled dangerously. Marco looked up sharply, staring first at Jeanne and then sending a suspicious glare at the golden kii-raja at Rachel's side, before groaning and sinking to the ground in a resigned manner.

"He'd do more good on the ground than asleep in your fighter," Jeanne continued. "And… and I think he'd appreciate being in the forest instead of the _Hawk_."

Rachel stroked her kii-raja's head. Tobias was coming with her in the fighter, so she could manage without Tom's guidance – in her fighter she was fine on her own. But still… "What'll you do with him when you morph owl to scout?" she wondered finally, searching for holes in Jeanne's suggestion.

"With Tom I don't need to morph," Jeanne pointed out. "He's probably a better scout than an owl, anyway."

"But he doesn't speak to _you_," Rachel objected, still stroking Tom's head. "You don't know _what_ he's seeing."

"Whatever it is, he'll be capable of handling it, or pointing it out to me and Marco," Jeanne said, shrugging. "He'll be of great use. And it's not like you won't get him back. I'm not trying to _steal_ him."

"I know," Rachel gritted. The fighters had begun appearing above them, circling once each before carefully lowering themselves to the ground. It was hard to remember that they were all moving on autopilot, merely following the call of the remote controls. Rachel stood up. "Fine," she muttered as she turned towards the _Hawk_, Tom flanking her like the faithful shadow he was. "Fine, you can _borrow_ him. But I don't like it."

Jeanne reached out to pet the kii-raja's golden side as he and Rachel passed her. Rachel spoke to the two adult Kelbrid, while KEdi'ir worked on digging out the last – yes, the last – of their supplies and split it into equal portions for people to eat. Marco, having nothing better to do, helped him. Jake began nodding off to sleep.

Jeanne stared critically at a wisp of her hair. "Time for another bath," she sighed.

Jake, suddenly wide awake, turned towards her and snapped sharply; "No baths."

"But we've got plenty of time before –"

"_No baths_. Take a shower when we get the ship back."

Jeanne started to protest, but then shrugged. Jake sat glaring suspiciously at her for another few minutes, as if she might sneak off.

The fighters waited. The group ate their food, and waited. Marco, Jeanne and Santorelli took turns waking Jake each time he began falling asleep. Finally Rachel decided to do something about it. She gave her cousin some dry herbs and told him to chew them.

"What for?" he asked suspiciously.

"It's _fedra'ac_. It'll keep you awake," Rachel said simply. "Because tonight will not be the endless opportunity of naps you seem to think."

Jake grimaced, but obediently put the herbs in his mouth… and almost spat them right back out in disgust, but Rachel had placed a hand over his mouth and her eyebrows were raised in an amused manner. Suddenly he realised how strange it was; she was making an expression _to_ him, but not _at_ him. Not once did she look at him. Of course not, she was blind, she couldn't see him, but it was so easy to forget her blindness.

"No. _Chew_ them, I said." Rachel shook her head once, still not _at_ him; then removed her hand, and moved away. Jake grimaced and began chewing, narrowly avoiding to spit the herbs out again.

No wonder they'd keep him awake. He'd never tasted anything so bitter in his life.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Author's Note;

Here we go, long note;

Firstly, I'll just mention that – when it comes to Jake's dreaming – I was inspired (okay, so I basically "borrowed" the entire idea) by David Eddings's book two of the _Mallorean_, _Demon Lord of Karanda_. *recommends every book in the series* To any of you who've read that (and… _hm_… basically know it by heart…) sorry about spoiling some of the future plot.

Secondly, Rose O'conner drew very nice picture of Tom the kii-raja. Big thanks to her for that. You can see the picture here: http://www.livejournal.com/talkpost.bml?journal=stormfairy&itemid=15047

Oh, and thirteen people told me they're reading this. (And I'm sure there's at least a few more who're simply too lazy to review… I'd be one of them, if this hadn't been my story.) That means I won my bet by six people! *dances around in silly circles* My friend asked me why I was wasting time posting this, and I answered that it was because people _read_ it. Not many enough to care, insisted my friend, guessing that tops seven people worry about this at all (including me), and now… well, next time anyone tells me I'm simply wasting my time, I'll be able to… _hm_. Never mind. Besides, if I want to waste my time, it's mine to waste. *stubborn expression*

Thanks for loyal reading and reviewing. Not having someone to comment what you put on paper (or into the computer) takes away the fun of writing. _That's_ the real reason I post this. And by now, I can't leave you all hanging, can I?

*considers* Well, then again, I _could_… *evil cackle that gradually fades into the distance*

Hm. Wrong chapter to put that on, since this time – in honour of being pursued by that EVIL number (1½) for (now more than) one and a half week (AARGH!) – I am posting one AND A HALF chapter. So go read the next half. The other half will of course be up later, but I'm warning you; when I say half, I mean _half_. As in, it stops halfway through the chapter's middle word.


	35. What to do with Kandronas

What to do with Kandronas

He _is_ telling the truth, Estrid chipped in. The others silenced, ceasing their more and more heated discussions, lowering their tails, and questioning stalks swivelled towards the scientist. There was a moment of silence, before…

Why do you think so? asked Aralgo.

Because he is using English words, Estrid explained patiently. He speaks of Rachel as one who knows her well – and as far as I can tell, he does. He knows more about the Animorphs – _and us Andalites_ – than he should be able to. He _nods_, he _shakes his head_; both are human gestures. And there was human furniture in that house.

He could be an ally of the Yeerks, Carali speculated. A Controller. And… so could this Rachel-person.

Minalea rolled her stalks. No. That sun – the Cava'aran sun – it breaks down Kandrona, remember? Estrid just told us, and we've seen it happen ourselves; Olana's Yeerk, and the fighters who turned to avoid it.

Carali looked slightly foolish. Of course. I… forgot.

Unless this is all a carefully set conspiracy, Minalea suggested eagerly, her four eyes glittering, and now it was Carali's turn to roll his stalks.

Minalea? Larynia said pleasantly. Could you _please_ remain serious?

Minalea took a quick step back, raised a hand, and made a sign as if to ward off evil.

There is one way to find out. That is, assuming they are not all Controllers. We could call the Animorphs, Estrid suggested. Talk to Rachel, and… what was his name? Jake – _Prince_ Jake.

_Prince_ Jake? Aralgo repeated sceptically.

_Prince _Jake, Estrid confirmed.

Larynia flicked her tail in agreement to Estrid's use of the title and said; Ka'an could give us the dialler's codes, I suppose. But I wonder if…

What?

I wonder if the systems are compatible. Up in the human's house, Ka'an claimed they are on some planet, where the Blade ship is, and they had only Kelbrid fighters. Is it possible to call Kelbrid fighters from the _Phantom_?

Unless we plan to call the Blade ship and ask them to forward a message, Aralgo said cheerfully.

Estrid ignored Aralgo and frowned. She had not considered any technological dilemmas yet. I'm not sure. Olana?

Despite Olana being no further away than just outside the ship, (enjoying the Cava'aran sunshine, she'd said, and for more than the obvious reason) there was no reply.

Olana! Minalea called, prancing over to the doorway and scanning out. Estrid followed.

Olana was leaning over the pieces of a gadget she had set on a force-field table, intense concentration on her face as she worked. A pair of Kelbrid stood at a distance, watching her curiously. The gadget closely resembled a Kandrona.

_Olana_! Minalea repeated. What are you doing?

Olana looked up, at first startled, but then – as she recognized Minalea's voice – her eyes began shining. I am making certain that we never need to worry about infestation again.

How do you plan to do _that_? Aralgo asked, curious but sceptical.

The Yeerks were kind enough to shove a spare Kandrona into one of the secret storage compartments near the engines, Olana explained. I am modifying it… instead of creating Kandrona particles, it will create Cava'ara particles. Is it only the simple matter of changing the energy code. Her entire face was now definitely shining.

We have secret compartments? Minalea wanted to know, something sly entering her expression. Where?

Yes, we have; I found them when I worked on the engines, the first time we landed to refill the ship's energy, Olana confirmed. But leave them alone, Minalea!

I had planned to do nothing else, Minalea assured her, expression turning deceptively innocent.

Olana's stalks gave the prankster a highly doubtful look. Now, if you would excuse me… Her attention was returned to the Kandrona particle emitter in front of her.

Olana, do you know if Kelbrid communication systems are compatible with ours?

Olana looked up again, and reached up to tug at a stalk. I don't think so, but I'm not sure. I haven't been able to study any Kelbrid systems yet.

We shall have to ask Ka'an, then, Estrid sighed. We'll call through the Kelbrid fighters.

If he lets us, Aralgo added.

Why wouldn't he?

The bitter herbs kept Jake awake, as promised. They did not, however, take away his fatigue. He'd just have to live with it.

Tom had already left, with Jeanne and Marco, to scout. It had been easier to convince the beast this time, but still he had looked very unhappy to leave Rachel. Jeanne and Marco had been sent off with Sira'aki and KEdi'ir in their fighter, although Sira'aki had grumbled about letting Jeanne take the kii-raja, and almost blankly refused to let the beast into her fighter without Rachel coming along to control it. She had discussed it with Rachel a long while before giving in.

JaLa'an had tossed his pack into his own fighter and was now clinging to the fighter's side with his great claws as he worked on something under the piece of the fighter's hull he had removed, preparing the craft for the journey home. He was working quickly, as he also had to give Jake, Melissa and Santorelli a ride to the Blade ship.

It was about at that time that Rachel appeared in the entrance of the _Hawk_, the smallest of the three fighters. She had one hand on the doorframe, to know where the craft's floor ended so she wouldn't step out into thin air and fall.

"Jake?

Jake looked up. "Yes?"

"Ka'an called," Rachel said, with a strange smile. "Cava'ara's got visitors."

Trouble? Tobias guessed, taking a break in his preening.

"No, not _that_ kind of visitors. Andalites."

Both Jakes' eyebrows shot upwards in surprise, as Tobias said; I thought they didn't like Andalites.

"They don't."

"Then how come –" Jake began.

"It's Estrid."

"Estrid?" Jake questioned, frowning for just a moment, before… "Oh, right. Estrid." The frown reappeared. "_What_ is she doing _there_?"

"Why don't you ask her yourself? She asked Ka'an to call so she could talk to us. That is, talk to _you_. You're the Prince."

Jake shook his head with a sad grimace. "I'll never hear the end of that Prince-business, will I?"

"Probably not," Rachel told him. "Are you going to talk to her or not?"

Jake was already on his way towards the _Hawk_. Tobias had landed nearby and was morphing human; he knew that the Kelbrid fighters were not capable of handling thought-speech, and he would need his human voice. Melissa – who so far knew nothing of Estrid – and Santorelli – who was curious, most likely having heard of the scientist in one of the countless stories that circulated about the Animorphs – followed the two Animorphs into Rachel's small fighter.

On the holographic screen Rachel had set up over the fighter's helm was Ka'an's scarred face. Beside him stood a human girl, who had five Andalite youngsters curiously glancing forwards from behind her. All their stalks kept circling with a sort of lazy vigilance.

"That's Estrid's human morph," Tobias confirmed with a short nod.

"And the Andalites?" Jake asked.

Tobias did not reply – Estrid did. She bowed her head towards Jake and said; "Hello, Prince Jake. The Andalites are _aristh_s from the Fleet –"

"Aren't three of those _females_?" Melissa muttered.

Estrid nodded.

"_Female_ _aristh_s?"

Estrid nodded again. Her eyes flickered empty – the emptiness of someone listening to thought-speech – and she then grimaced. "Larynia would like me to forward a comment to that," she said. "But since I would prefer to stay on your good side, I think I shall leave it unsaid."

One of the females glared viciously at Estrid, but the scientist merely continued, unaffected; "These are _aristh_s Larynia, Carali, Minalea, Aralgo, and Olana. I see… two new faces among you, as well. Who..?"

"Santorelli, and Melissa," Jake said. "New recruits. Estrid, not that I'm not glad to see you again – and I'm sure Ax would be, too… a friendly familiar face never hurts. But _what_ are you doing on Cava'ara, and _how_ did you get there?"

"Long story," was all the explanation Estrid offered. "Rachel told Ka'an that you had a deadline… something about a ship..?"

Jake nodded. "Yes – our ship. The Yeerks stole her and we're planning to get her back."

"It's not a Kelbrid ship, is it?"

"No – she's a Yeerk cruiser-class ship. We kind of stole her to begin with. Of course, that was after she'd been stolen by you Andalites, which naturally was after the Yeerks stole the idea of her from your Fleet."

Estrid looked a tad lost, blinking once, but shook it off and said; "Good. Then we'll be able to contact you from the _Phantom_."

"_Phantom_?" Tobias echoed inquiringly.

"Our ship," Estrid clarified. "Actually, to be exact; Captain Kandion's ship. We just –"

"Who's Captain Kandion?" Rachel wondered.

"Part of the long story," replied the scientist. "That is why we need to talk to you later. Do you know the dialler's code to your ship?"

"Dialler's code…" Jake repeated, frowning. "That's the complicated set of numbers and letters, right? The ship's ID, of sorts? The one that was three pages if you printed it?"

"Yes."

"Well, I can't say I know it _by heart_," the Animorph leader admitted wryly.

"Why not agree on a frequency to search on and we'll take it from there?" Melissa suggested.

"Very well. How about 3-_imah_-923-46-_talan_?" Estrid said.

But Melissa shook her head. "The Yeerks use the 3-_imah_ series all too often."

"And how would you know that? After what I've been told –"

"I just spent the last three years serving on the Blade ship. I think I know which frequency series the Yeerks use."

Estrid's eyes narrowed briefly – not to mention the startled wariness on the Andalites behind her – but the expression was just as quickly gone. "Very well. 6-_dalaf_ series, same number?"

"You mean 6-_dalaf_-923-46-_talan_?"

"Yes."

"Fine," Melissa agreed. "Memorize it, all of you," she told those standing around her. "But exchange _dalaf_ for _difu_, for that's the Yeerk name for it."

"So… 6-_difu_-923-46-_talan_?" Tobias said.

"Correct."

Jake looked up at Estrid again. "We'll call you once we get our ship back."

"Hail," Santorelli murmured.

"What?"

"The term is _hail_. We'll _hail _you once we get our ship back."

Jake shrugged. "Whatever. Goodbye, Estrid."

"Just… one more thing," Estrid hurried to say. She had been listening to thought-speech again. "Just so you know. If you come across an Andalite ship called the _SwiftHoof_… it's Yeerk-Controlled. The crewmembers are all Controllers. We found out the hard way."

"Did you lose anyone?" Rachel asked.

"Olana… was infested," Estrid said, hesitantly, with a glance back at one of the female _aristh_s. "But…"

"The Yeerk starved when you headed towards Cava'ara," Rachel supplied.

"Precisely. Just… don't trust the _SwiftHoof_, if you encounter it. Especially not since the One was there, too –"

"So _that's_ where he's gone," Melissa exclaimed. Jake and Santorelli gave her a set of strange looks.

"You've met the One?" Rachel wondered softly. A hand moved almost unconsciously towards Tobias's, grasping his fingers.

"Yes."

"Did you see Ax?" Jake demanded.

"Aximili? Yes." Estrid blinked, staring at space again – this time not because she was listening to thought-speech. She shook herself, and quickly added; "But… more of that later. You still have a deadline."

Jake nodded. "And it is best to get started. Bye."

"Good luck," Estrid said, and disappeared from the screen. The _aristh_s followed her.

Ka'an remained. For a moment he simply watched the Andalites leave, and then… "_Kilm__ zi'entis lu'ey pinu'u y'Aximili kos y'kilm U'uhn_," he said lowly to Rachel.

"I suppose she would have had to say something about it, yes," Rachel replied nonchalantly in the same language.

"You friend is among the Taken, is he not?"

"True," admitted the blind Animorph. "But not for much longer."

Ka'an watched her with his intense, black-and-white stare. For a moment nothing moved except the slits on his cheeks, that opened and closed with his every breath. "I do not like this," he murmured finally. "The One is dangerous."

Rachel bared her teeth in a classical, insane Rachel-grin. "The One is not alone of being dangerous."

"The foe you discard as harmless is the foe that sinks his blades into your back. Therefore, do not turn your back to him, Rachel."

"I won't," Rachel assured him, before cutting the communication.

"What was that about?" Tobias asked.

"Ka'an wanted to wish us good luck," Rachel said cheerfully. "And tell us to be careful. Although he has his own ways of saying it."

Jake sighed. "Good advice, but won't help us much. Santorelli, Melissa? Don't you think JaLa'an is done by now?"

The two trooped out silently, taking the hint.

"Anything you want to say, Jake?" Rachel wondered.

Jake nodded. "First of all, I think I should remind you that you are a _decoy_. You are _not_ the main unit, so try not to get into any more trouble than necessary." He crossed his arms over his chest and his voice grew just a bit sharper; "You heard that, Rachel? Keep your instincts under control. _Don't get creative_."

"Would I do that?" Rachel asked him with an innocent expression.

"Only at the slightest opportunity," Jake predicted amiably. "Tobias? Keep an eye on her for me, will you?"

To Jake's relief, Tobias nodded agreement without a hint of argument. He moved closer to Rachel, coming up behind her and wrapping both arms around her. She contently leaned her head back against him.

"And lastly," Jake went on, glancing away from the two, "as soon as two and a half hours have passed from us leaving this camp, you meet up with us at the _Rachel_. Any questions?"

"No, Jake, no questions; we've understood and ignored every word you've said," Rachel told him, and reached forwards to pat his arm comfortingly. Tobias was probably sending her images, now that Tom wasn't there to do so. "Stop worrying so much. Now I think JaLa'an is waiting for you too, so you better get going."

Jake exited the fighter, but called an extra "be careful!" over his shoulder before disappearing out of sight.

"Finally," Tobias said. "I thought he'd never leave."

Rachel smiled as she turned towards him. "Impatient, are we?" she murmured. She raised a hand towards his face, perhaps only to locate it, and let her fingers play with the familiar features.

Most faces Rachel could read by the tips of her fingers, as well as through Tom's eyes. She had not had much practice – especially not with human faces – but she did know what to look for; she could feel if someone's jaw was clenched in determination, note if a forehead was laid in thoughtful or worried lines, and knew at once from a wrinkled nose that a sneer of contempt adorned the person's face.

But Tobias was different. His face did not alter with mood; only his eyes expressed his emotions, if even that, but Rachel couldn't see or feel _them_. Inhabiting the body of a hawk so long had deprived Tobias of the usual, easily detected expressions. His face was as blank to her hands as it was to other people's eyes; and as she let her fingers wander over his face the only thing that betrayed his state of mind was the way he attempted to kiss her fingertips.

Then again, _that_ spoke clearly enough, Rachel thought with a small smile.

She moved her forefinger and thumb down over his eyelids and felt them close obediently.

"Now you don't see more than I do," she said, and, placing one arm around his neck and the other hand to his cheek, reached up to kiss him. She felt one of his arms clasping around her, drawing her closer, and a hand move up to the base of her neck, into her hair. She allowed herself the luxury of sinking into his embrace, forgetting everything except the taste of his lips and mouth on hers and the comforting feel of his arms around her.

"Rachel?" Tobias murmured after he had pulled back again, leaving his forehead leaned against hers and speaking right at her face; "can I open my eyes now?"

"But you already have – haven't you?" Rachel replied, a note of playful annoyance in her voice. She punched at his arm, just hard enough to make him wince.

"Guilty," he admitted, and before Rachel could say anything further he kissed her again, vehemently, not letting her move a finger's width in any direction until her half-hearted attempts to push him off had ceased and she was kissing him back, her arms flung about his neck and holding on so tightly she might as well have been trying to strangle him.

She finally slackened her arms and let her head fall back with a long sigh, taking a moment to catch her breath. When she raised her head again she felt lips pressing against her temple.

"I'm sorry," Tobias whispered thickly. "I just _have to_ look at you… you're so incredibly beautiful that I can't keep my eyes closed."

Rachel blushed against his shoulder, smiling a smile of someone too flattered to come up with something to say, and both hating and loving that feeling. She felt Tobias's hands traverse her back, gently massaging it. But through the crude fabric of her shirt, she could also feel a cold metal edge cutting sharply into her lower back. She had somehow ended up with her back right against the control board of her fighter.

And that reminded her of something.

"Tobias?" she said with a mental sigh.

"Yes?"

"I could stand here forever. I really could, but… much as I hate to say it…"

"…but we've got work to do, right?" Tobias muttered with a grimace.

Rachel nodded. She stretched up to press her lips against his one last time, and only reluctantly did he remove his arms from around her and let her turn to the helm of the fighter. From how quickly she found the controls she needed, no-one would ever have guessed that she was blind. Tobias took a place beside her, watching her work but not understanding anything she was doing.

"Are all the packs in here?" Rachel asked.

Tobias made a quick count; and found that, yes, they were all accounted for. Since JaLa'an and Sira'aki were heading directly home, and Jake and the others had not wanted to drag the packs around, all of them had been stashed into the tiny _Hawk_. The remaining space was limited; it was just as well that Tom, with his formidable size, was not with them. Just as well for another reason; the beast would have been anxious about anyone kissing his human, and Tobias did not like the thought of having to worry about the beast's teeth at such a time – or ever.

Having let his thoughts drift, he found that he needed to recount the packs, and hurriedly did so. "They're all here."

Rachel gave a short nod and the doors to the fighter closed. Tobias almost fell as the craft suddenly shot steeply upwards.

"Some warning would be nice…" he muttered, catching his balance at the last moment, and almost losing it again as the fighter levelled.

"Sorry," was Rachel's sparse apology – she looked preoccupied, her attention on her piloting. But she did add; "Better grab hold of something. I'm going to skim the tree line, and I'm going to do it at top speed, which means a lot of fast manoeuvring."

Tobias took hold of a handle-like object near the door. He sat down against the wall (just be extra safe), without letting go of the handle, and hoped that Rachel knew what she was doing.

The thought made him smile and tighten his grip on the handle. A _blind_ person was flying a windowless fighter, at top speeds, amongst trees. A _reckless_ blind person. If it had been anyone other than Rachel, Tobias would never even have set foot in the fighter.

"Everyone's here?" Jake questioned as he looked around. He took note of Melissa and Santorelli, who were morphing to their battle morphs while Jeanne played with Tom's sharp back-spikes and Marco sat glaring at the beast with his small, gorilla-like eyes. Yes; of course everyone was there. Even in the dark it was easy to tell. And besides, how would anyone have managed to get lost so soon?

And, his mind added, if they somehow had managed it; why had he brought them along to begin with? In that case it'd almost have been just as well that they were gone.

Sira'aki and JaLa'an had already left, without a word of goodbye – well, not an understandable one, at least. Their black fighters had disappeared quickly into the black night sky.

"What's the scene around the ship, Marco?" Jake asked.

Marco shrugged his broad gorilla shoulders. Pretty still. Half a dozen patrolling Hork-Bajir, a few Taxxons with dracons, three morphable humans, and the technicians have called it a night and left. Our ride outta here is just waiting for us, Fearless Leader.

But Jake knew his friend all too well to believe that that was all. "Any Kelbrid?"

Marco's gorilla face twisted into a grimace. That's where we've got a _slight_ problem. You see, they've got two or three up in every damn tree within two hundred meters from the ship.

"Ouch," commented Jake with a worried frown. "Did they see you?"

Jake, _now_ you've insulted me. _See me_? What do you think I am, an amateur?

"Sorry."

You better be.

Don't worry about the Kelbrid – they'll be off soon, Melissa said. Her large cape buffalo was standing, with a typical buffalo's bored, laid-back expression, next to Santorelli's rhino.

Why so? Santorelli asked.

To begin with, you've got a kii-raja with you. Secondly, there's a feast tonight. An initiation ceremony of sorts… I've forgotten the word for it. Perhaps it was simply called 'initiation'..?

"What is it?" Jeanne wondered.

The Priests of the One rounds up nearby youngsters and turn them into Touched. That's their children who'll be initiated – they wouldn't miss it for the universe, whether they approve of it or not.

"So the Touched will be less of a problem later. Got any idea when?"

Melissa nodded. I saw the red and gold from the fire on the way here. That's the call for everyone to come. As soon as they see it shining against the sky they'll leave, whether they're on guard duty or not. I suggest we move quickly – before the Yeerks send over extra Hork-Bajir.

"So as soon as we see that fire we get to the ship and take care of the guards – and let's hope Rachel comes up with a good distraction to keep those extra Hork-Bajir by the Blade ship. We're in two groups; myself, Marco, and Santorelli in the first group, and Jeanne, Tom, and Melissa in the second." He began morphing tiger; he was the last one not in battle morph (except for Jeanne, but she had Tom). Tom glared viciously at him as he morphed, teeth bared in warning, and Jake moved a cautious step back. 

Paranoid, that creature was. He only hoped it wasn't with right.

When he had finished morphing he gave Jeanne a good stare out of the corner of his eye's corner and added privately; I'm trusting you and Tom to be able to handle Melissa if she causes any trouble. You've just scouted, you know the area, and you know what to do. You'll be okay?

Jeanne gave a discreet nod and kept playing with Tom's back spikes as if she didn't have a care in the world. The kii-raja was looking very unhappy; but he was true to his duties and (from the way everyone had positioned themselves at a certain distance) was effectively guarding Jeanne, just as Rachel had told him to do.

Right, this is what we do, Jake continued. My group on one side of the ship – the far side. The other group on the other side – the near side, that would be. All guards go down. Use stealth as long as possible. Understood?

Nods all around. Seeing a rhino and a cape buffalo standing next to each other, nodding, looked very funny, and was probably a once-in-a-lifetime experience. But it was also unimportant, so Jake let it pass.

Good… then we're going as soon as that fire lights up the sky.

Which would be now, Marco commented, pointing up at the reddened horizon.

"Now what have we here..?" Rachel whispered suddenly. Her expression was curious.

"What is it?" Tobias wondered, aware of the fighter slowing to a stop and hovering in the air. He stood up.

"_Lu'iny'yth_, – an initiation," Rachel sneered, voice suddenly turned sharp. Her eyes flashed and she made an angry face. "It has to be. Nothing else would make them risk such a blaze."

"A fire?" Tobias muttered, frowning as he moved up beside her and touched her arm to let her know he was there. Her face flickered towards him, but then – cross with herself, for she knew the gesture was useless – it turned away again. Tobias continued; "Isn't that a bad idea in a place that's completely forest?"

"Oh, yes. That's why Kelbrid don't light more fires than necessary; it isn't good for the trees, and Kelbrid love trees. But for initiations – initiations of Touched, that is – they light huge fires as signals."

"Should we cause our little distraction here instead?" Tobias asked, hearing the obvious disapproval in Rachel's voice.

"No. There are Priests, and the One himself might show up at an initiation, and I don't think just the two of us can handle _him_, not to mention the masses of Kelbrid. Well, at least I know Jake will be very angry with us if we think we will be able to handle all that – especially if we actually try." She sighed heavily, shaking her head sadly. "If only I'd have been morphable. Or at least had Tom with me."

"You don't need that beast while I'm here," Tobias told her, half-joking, reaching out to touch her cheek.

Rachel wrapped one arm around his waist, moving closer to him; close enough to lay her head on his shoulder, her forehead resting against the side of his neck. Close enough for him to feel her chest heaving in a concerned, heavy sigh he did not hear. "Perhaps not," she agreed in a soft voice. "But he needs _me_."

Tobias stroked her hair, let her go, watched her as she steered the _Hawk_ away from the initiation, and…

…and wished he'd had the courage to reply with a "_But so do I_".

He remained silent only because he knew that Jeanne had been right; Tom did not want any rivals for his beloved human's attention. And Tobias also knew that Rachel's reaction to lending out the kii-raja would be _nothing_ compared to her reaction if someone suggested – or even _hinted_ – that she should get rid of it.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Author's Note;

Well, here's the second half of the chapter, plus a few changes in the first half, and…

Reply to Larry; yes, they might all morph kii-rajas, and rip everyone on Dina'amm apart, but that would a) ruin a good story, and b) be practically useless, for i) there are too many _real kii-rajas hanging about, and ii) you'll find out when I write more about kii-rajas later. Moreover, kii-rajas don't seem to take kindly to being acquired (or to morphables at all). Remember what happened to Melissa when she tried. There will, however, be one from the group who manages to acquire, morph __and __impersonate Tom… (Rachel will not be amused *snicker*). Guess who?_

And about the two endings; well, possible, of course, but… making _one ending for this is giving me enough trouble, and now I'm supposed to write __two?! I suppose I could write another ending after the first one is finished, and post it as a separate story of sorts. If I have a burst of inspiration. Or I'll mix in the Time Matrix and just fool around a bit. That's always fun. *see Time Matrix Chronicles. That was simple fooling around. Very fun.* You're right about happy endings being annoying. Happy endings __are annoying – and sometimes hard/boring to write. I'll think about the sad – meaning cliffhanger included – ending. (If you readers all promise not to hunt me down and strangle me for pulling a KAA.)_

But for now, focus is on the middle part on the story.

Whew. Long note. Got carried away. In more important news, next chapter will take time. I know that. For I'm almost out of notes to type up, and have to _write_ the remainder chapter. Blah. And _that is going to – as said – take time._


	36. About initiations

About initiations

No, Santorelli, that one's a child, let him leap, Jake ordered from a hundred meters or so back, and Santorelli's rhino halted his charge with a snort. The Kelbrid child disappeared quickly into a tree, and headed off in the same direction every other Kelbrid they had encountered was heading.

A few stayed to fight the intruders. The child had been one of them, but had probably thought the better of it at the sight of the rhino.

I can't tell them apart, Santorelli muttered. The adults _smell the same as the kids._

Then it's a good thing we're here to back you up, said Marco cheerfully.

Maybe you should keep to the Yeerks, and leave the Kelbrid for us, Jake suggested. Just to be safe. Yeerk backup is beginning to arrive, so we're low on time but plenty on people to fight.

Probably. Santorelli whipped his head around with a snort. I smell a leopard, he announced. He's heading here.

And we've got Hork-Bajir approaching, added Marco, from closer to their waiting ship, the _Rachel._

Santorelli, take care of the leopard – meet up with us near the ship, Jake instructed. Marco and I'll be taking care of those Hork-Bajir.

Santorelli bounded off, and headed towards the leopard. The large cat, that had been crouching, crawling towards them, heard the rhino's charge and came quickly to his feet. He didn't pause, but flew at Santorelli's back, trying to pass over the face and the deadly horn.

He dug his claws into the rhino's thick hide, but left only shallow scratches. Santorelli tossed him off easily. The large cat flew head-first into a tree, hit it with a sickening _thud, and dropped to the ground._

But barely was the leopard out of the picture before new Controllers appeared. A set of them; two Hork-Bajir and a Taxxon wielding a dracon.

Jake was right; it seemed the reinforcements Melissa had warned of were beginning to arrive. Santorelli spun around and charged the closest; one of the Hork-Bajir. His horn was driven right into the alien's belly, but the other leapt at Santorelli while he stormed past and slashed at the side of his head.

Pain appeared like a sudden bolt of lightening as his ear was cut cleanly off, and the elbow-blade left a streak of flowing blood where it passed over his neck, and down across his shoulder.

Irrelevant. The rhino barely acknowledged the injury, and wheeled around to storm at the second Hork-Bajir before he caused any more damage. The Hork-Bajir scrambled aside, but not quickly enough; the rhino's horn connected with his side and he was thrown back.

But Santorelli felt an explosion of pain under his chin, just between his left front leg and his throat. It took him a moment to figure out that his own speed had brought him right onto a knee-blade.

But the rhino dismissed it. The rhino had caught the scent of Taxxon; soon joined by the stench of burned skin as a dracon beam created a black ring on Santorelli's shoulder. He stumbled around, even less elegant than usual now with his wounds, and lowered his horn as he rushed at the Taxxon.

The creature fired once more, at Santorelli's face, blinding him, but soon after he felt how it was crushed under his heavy feet.

Drawing in the air around him, Santorelli could detect no more enemies, except for the two dead Hork-Bajir, the flattened Taxxon, and the leopard.

There was nothing wrong with Santorelli's memory, and he remembered what Jake had repeated – all too many times – during his classes. "_Despite what you might think, you aren't at your weakest in your human form, or in any morph. You're at your weakest WHILE YOU ARE MORPHING. Better to stay human, or stay in morph, than try to morph or demorph, if you've got any choice at all. Most of the time, you're perfectly helpless while you're morphing. Never forget that." Then he had always smiled a small, sad smile, eyes fading into the distance, and added; "__Except if you're Cassie, of course."_

Santorelli grimaced mentally as the rhino staggered to its knees. Blind and badly bleeding, he was, and he could feel the rhino's strength fading – quickly.

It was most definitely a time to demorph and remorph. He wouldn't make it back to the others if he tried – he knew the rhino well enough by then to know that. He smelled the air around him, and found no trance of approaching foes.

Assured, he focused on his human self. His heavy rhino shape began shrivelling down to his smaller human frame. His rhino skin felt like a heavy rag cast about him, trapping him; he didn't have the strength to lift his arms or legs, or even to roll over on his back. He could barely breathe. His human body was not made to carry the heavy skin of a rhino.

His face contorted as his spine drew together, and he tensed; it _should have hurt, but didn't. Fingers began appearing at the end of his arms, which were still wrapped in the all-too-thick rhino hide._

He couldn't move; Jake had been right, as usual. He was very grateful about the fact that there was no-one around. He was even more grateful when the morphing process replaced his burned rhino face with his own human face, complete with working eyes.

He was less grateful when those eyes revealed to him that the leopard was watching him intently, just finishing his own demorph.

"JaLa'an. Look."

"I see," the other Kelbrid said grimly over the link between the fighters. "I still hope to one day see them lose control over one of those fires and end up burning down their home."

"They have firelizards," Sira'aki reminded him. "As long as they control the firelizards, they control the fire."

JaLa'an could only agree. Firelizards – _ji'ilam_, fire carers – came from the Kelbrid home world. They lived and died at whatever place their parents had laid their rock-like eggs; the eggs hatched in the heat of a blazing fire, and the lizards emerged fully grown. They spent their short lives trying to impress each other by running in and out of the fire, searching for something for the flames to live on. When the blaze moved on, they ran with it; when the blaze died they quickly froze to death, leaving their rocklike eggs among the ashes.

"JaLa'an, we are landing," Sira'aki suddenly announced.

"Landing?" JaLa'an repeated in surprise.

"Yes," Sira'aki replied, and her fighter was already touching the ground. Left no other choice, JaLa'an followed.

As soon as the two fighters had landed the three Kelbrid were out of them, JaLa'an striding over to Sira'aki and KEdi'ir and following them when the two leapt up into a nearby tree.

"What do you intend to do?" JaLa'an demanded. They were travelling closer to the fire, leaping nonchalantly from tree to tree, using horns and wrist blades and claws to climb, while their tails helped them keep their balance.

"Ni'ilu," Sira'aki whispered, coming to a stop out on a branch, standing on all four, foot in front of foot and hand in front of hand, leaning forwards to see better. There were only a few trees left between them and the gathered Touched that surrounded the dancing fire.

"Ni'ilu, LuRi'il's child?" JaLa'an questioned, puzzled, but then made a gesture to show that he understood and no explanations were necessary. Ni'ilu would of course be among the gathered children. LuRi'il had said so.

JaLa'an stared down at the Touched, and unavoidably caught sight of the Priests. He felt his ears quiver and cheek-slits widen in a snarl. The Priests were glowing green, like their master, and even aside from that they were easily distinguished from ordinary Touched by the fact that their horns had been removed – _cut off. A barbaric custom, it was, but one the Whole was not responsible for; worship of the Kelbrid gods had included that practice even before the Kelbrid Home World had been destroyed, which was long before the appearance of the One._

"LuRi'il did us a great favour," Sira'aki continued. Her gaze was lost amongst the youngsters, trying to locate Ni'ilu, a child she had never seen and could hardly possibly recognize. "We should repay it."

"And save her daughter from _them," JaLa'an agreed, but his tone was reserved, and his voice did not rise and fall musically as it usually did._

"You do not approve."

"I believe it madness. Sira'aki, there must be hundreds of Touched down there, perhaps over a thousand. If we are even _seen, we __ka'ir-ya'aysh_ –" (a term that translated roughly into "white-eyes", a way to describe non-Touched) "– we will be killed."

Sira'aki sat up, straightened proudly, and sent a sharp glare at him. "It is a matter of honour, JaLa'an," she declared.

JaLa'an stared back at her, before finally – reluctantly – nodding. There was – after all – no way to change a Kelbrid's mind about something once honour was involved. And if they lived or died because of it, then so be it.

"But you are correct," Sira'aki admitted lowly, turning her eyes back towards the Touched's initiation. "No _ka'ir-ya'aysh__ can go down there. Thus, there is a problem."_

"I shall go," KEdi'ir offered. He had placed himself on a branch above the two adults, keeping lookout and not interfering in their discussion, but now he decided it was time to speak.

JaLa'an nodded, realising that the child was correct; he should be the one to go. One _ka'ir-ya'aysh_ child among many would cause no suspicion. There would be no fighting.

Sira'aki, though, wavered. Her giant claws dug deeper into the branch's soft bark as she tensed. Then, finally, she said; "Yes. Yes, KEdi'ir, you should. Go down there, find Ni'ilu, and bring her here. Tell her that her mother sent you. It is best to solve this without a battle, for in a battle we would be hard pressed to win."

KEdi'ir dropped from his branch and climbed quickly to the ground. Sira'aki and JaLa'an moved closer, carefully, knowing that they still needed to stay hidden. They watched the child run in amongst the Touched, and move purposefully towards the other children.

Purposefully, to find one among over a hundred; one child called Ni'ilu. KEdi'ir disappeared in amongst those hundred and his mother and JaLa'an lost sight of him.

"The ceremony is beginning," Sira'aki said suddenly.

JaLa'an nodded. He watched the lower Priests pick out one child from the edge of the crowd and beckon for her to come. He was glad it was not KEdi'ir they had chosen, and he sent a silent prayer to the gods that it was not Ni'ilu.

"KEdi'ir must hurry," Sira'aki whispered. Her tail was twitching with concern.

"Be calm, Sira'aki," murmured JaLa'an.

The other Kelbrid took a deep breath, cheek-slits flaring, but remained where she was and her voice was steady; "They may kill him. I will _not be calm."_

JaLa'an was about to disagree – before he realised the truth in Sira'aki's words. No Kelbrid would kill a child, but – as any from Cava'ara knew all too well – once at an initiation, a child was no longer a child. He watched a second youngster move towards the glowing Priests. The first was staggering away, proud but exhausted, her eyes shining green.

A tremor of anger passed down JaLa'an's spine.

Three more children were led to the Priests and turned into Touched. All of them were stumbling as they moved away, only kept up by their stubbornness.

Then what should not have been allowed to happen, occurred.

The next child to be beckoned was KEdi'ir.

Sira'aki felt JaLa'an grip her shoulder. "Be calm," he repeated sternly.

"He will not agree to become a Touched," whispered Sira'aki, pride blended in with overwhelming fear. "Therefore, they _will kill him. __I will not be calm!"_

She tore free and dropped towards the ground. Her horns caught a branch to swing around, up to another, and from there she leaped the last few meters to the forest floor. She ran towards the Priests, and towards her son, who was moving precariously forwards, flanked on both sides by alert Touched who had taken note of his reluctance.

Sira'aki reached the Priests quickly and charged the nearest one with a cry of rage.

A _cer__ y'yhan – a hornmaster – leapt into her way and deftly deflected her horns from their paths. Sira'aki drew back automatically, lowering her horns and eyes, but not before –_

"_Ka'ir-ya'aysh_!" spat the Touched. Sira'aki knew he was a _cer__ y'yhan from the way he carried himself; how he angled his wrist blades, how he held his ears, how he moved his horns, and that slight lift of his chin – that knowingly exposed his throat, but he was confident he could protect it._

She herself was a simple horn, a warrior, neither more or less. She could not hope to defeat a _cer__ y'yhan. It was right for the __cer__ y'yhan to not be bothered by her, unless he chose to. It was proper for her to back away._

Normally, Sira'aki would have done what was right; what was proper. She would have backed away to find another challenger, since she had no hopes of defeating this one, and they both knew it.

But this concerned KEdi'ir. This concerned the life or death of her son. Therefore, right and proper could go volunteer for service under the One. Surprising everyone – most of all the _cer_ _y'yhan_ – Sira'aki charged.

As Sira'aki had left the tree to advance on ground level, JaLa'an had moved forwards through the trees. He had leapt up to a branch near the fire, and landed so far out on it that it swayed menacingly under his weight – but he did not care. He dug the great claws on his feet deeper into it for security, held his tail out to balance him, and drew himself up to his full height. He sent a quick glance out over the initiation. The Touched were beginning to realise that their ceremony was disrupted; they were swarming towards KEdi'ir and Sira'aki.

It was time. LuRi'il had said they only needed to call…

"_Arnaha_!" roared JaLa'an out over the crowd. "_Ce'e__ i'i aty'uki y'kilm U'uhn'yt ni'um – ti'un ce'e yunil a'aluso mla'ari'i e'etari ce'e_?!"

…and there is one thing to be said about Kelbrid; they are _excellent at roaring. JaLa'an's bellow made every Touched adult turn towards him – at least glance towards him, which was all he had hoped for._

"Raise your horns and fight!" he cried, and – as the branch again swayed upwards – he freed his claws and let the branch throw him forwards, out into the open air… he rolled forwards through the air once, to put his hands and feet below him as he fell, down, down…down right among the Touched.

A Kelbrid could leap from high, and far, but this was from too far, and too high.

It was a mad leap, although he realised that only when it was too late. He fell, twisted his tail and horns so that he would keep steady in the air, and already before hitting the ground some part of him could hear the sickening crunching of shattering bones.

The ground was unyielding and where JaLa'an landed he stayed.

Just a short look… Minalea pleaded.

No, said Estrid, for the seventh time.

It will only take a moment…

No, and stop asking, _please, Estrid replied, even __her temper being strained._

Minalea looked grumpy. She followed the group from a distance, drawing her hooves along the ground to stir up a suitable amount of dust in a childish but strangely satisfying display of anger.

All she wanted was a closer look at that ship. How hard could it be? _Why not? It was perfectly safe._

The ship had arrived just moments earlier, patiently herded and nudged down by the fighters of Ka'an's warriors. The group of Andalites had seen it land while leaving the fighter they had contacted those humans – the Animorphs – from. Ka'an had told them it was a Jijfku ship, and extremely old – the Touched, in fact, _all Kelbrid – used them in fooling enemy ships they were not there. Jijfku ships had excellent concealing devices and could seem not there – or dead-in-space – while hiding large amounts of fighters and bustling with activity. Simply put, they could let show only what they wanted to reveal._

It was a great price, a trophy, Ka'an had continued proudly, but then refused to say more.

Minalea couldn't help it. She was _curious. She just wanted one, quick look. Or a couple of them. Larynia?_

Not _now, Minalea, Larynia muttered, and returned to discussing Olana's latest project – the Cava'ara particle emitter – with Aralgo and Olana._

Carali!

Carali turned a stalk to smile back at her. Later, perhaps, Minalea. With Ka'an's permission – if he gives it.

Minalea glared viciously at him. In fact, she continued glaring at him all the way back to the _Phantom. Although by the time they reached the ship – she had to admit – the glare had softened to a dreamy stare, watching the muscles on his back, tail and legs move under his skin as he walked. He was, after all, very easy to look at._

When Carali stopped outside the Phantom – waiting as Olana, Aralgo, Larynia, and Estrid leapt inside – she almost didn't notice how he returned her gaze. When she did, she found herself blushing fiercely, and hurried to trot past him into the _Phantom. That he only smirked knowingly in return made her hurry even more, almost forgetting and tripping over one of her own wires._

She narrowly avoided it. Carali, who followed, was not as lucky. He fell, for once not clumsily; he rolled and sprung to his hooves, almost at once… and spun menacingly to face Minalea. That was _enough, he growled, beginning to move towards her. Quite enough._

Minalea couldn't help it. She grinned, as always at a successful prank, and backed carefully away from Carali. She had to back more and more quickly, even whipping her tail forwards as a shield, when the other _aristh didn't stop his advance._

I might need some help here… she said in passing to Larynia and Olana.

But Olana rolled her stalks, and Larynia only flicked her tail. Even Minalea's two friends had begun to tire of her eternal trip wires. You got into this mess. Now get out of it.

Minalea's four eyes glowered at her two friends. She was completely unprepared for Carali's strike; his tail swept her blade out of the way and locked it against the wall, and before she could protest he had seized her wrists and was staring down at her, face only a hand's width from her own.

Minalea, of course, only smiled innocently at him. Now what?

I am not sure, Carali replied, frowning, his main eyes fixated on hers. I suppose… I suppose I'll just give you a strict order to stop putting up those trip wires.

Minalea's eyes glittered. Make me.

That could prove difficult.

I know.

Any suggestions?

Minalea stopped smiling. You'd have to keep me under strict watch, she told him seriously. I'm sure you'll come up with something. She reached forwards with a stalk to let it brush past his forehead… and saw the slight tremor in his shoulders and that touch, saw his eyes half-close, and felt his hands travel up her arms and to the sides of her face, thumbs stroking her cheeks –

Before he quickly pulled them away and took a step back. One stalk found its way towards the rest of the group.

The rest of the group consisted of three surprised expressions and one – Estrid's – smug smile.

Aralgo turned a set of accusing main eyes towards the scientist. You knew about this, didn't you?

Yes, Estrid admitted. I did.

You also knew about the Yeerks.

It was Estrid's turn to look surprised; both at the new subject and at Aralgo's chosen time to bring it up. Then of course; the question had taken her by complete surprise, which was the best way to get an automatic reaction – and see if the person in question gave a straight answer. She blinked wordlessly.

You mentioned the Yeerks as if they were actually here long before we encountered them, Aralgo continued, and flicked his tail. I was a bit groggy from _tarfat_ at the time, so I'm not sure of exactly what you said, but I definitely heard the words "Yeerks are out here". And I've got an excellent memory, so don't pretend I didn't. I wasn't _that groggy._

Carali frowned at his friend. I'm sure it was just a coincidence…

But Aralgo ignored that and went on; You didn't seem surprised about Prince Aximili either – I mean, about _what he was, yes, but not __where he was. You were suddenly rushed, but not surprised. You, too, he added as an afterthought, waving a hand at Larynia._

And you want an explanation? Larynia questioned in a low voice.

Correct, affirmed Aralgo.

Larynia and Estrid exchanged a glance, and then Estrid sighed and began speaking; Well, there's been an event… the Fleet calls it the _Intrepid Situation…_

Minalea began sneakily moving away. This sounded like the beginning of a very long, very boring explanation. That ship was far more interesting. She knew an opportunity to sneak off when she saw one, and _this was almost __too perfect._

"Another one," Jeanne concluded, watching Tom grow alert again. She continued forwards, in the direction the beast had been looking, and he fell in beside her – just so far in front that he would be able to see past her to the side.

Melissa followed, at a distance, wary of the kii-raja. Her cape buffalo morph could not manage a very convincing expression of wariness, but she did her best.

Jeanne passed another tree, and suddenly Tom had moved, placing himself between the human and two Taxxons, who looked up in surprise. At the sight of Tom, they both let out frightened _srrreees_ and fumbled with their dracons, trying to raise and aim them. Tom easily leapt at them, ripping past the first Taxxon's chest with his bladed tail as he sank his fangs and claws into the other's face. Then he backed away quickly, mouth working as if he was trying to rid himself of a bad taste.

I feel unnecessary, Melissa commented as Jeanne began scratching Tom's ears. That beast is taking all the work on himself.

"He does a good job, too," Jeanne said, and looked up as Tom again raised his head to stare in amongst the trees, nose and tail twitching. "Shall we continue?"

Rachel kept the fighter inconspicuous as they closed in on the Blade ship. That basically meant that she let it act like one of the Toucheds' fighters; patrolling the area, and thoroughly bored with it.

Mind explaining what's going on? asked Tobias. He had demorphed.

Rachel shrugged, indicating that there was not much to tell. "We're by the Blade ship. There are Taxxons, humans, and Hork-Bajir here and there below us. No Kelbrid, though. They're all at the initiation." She frowned. "Strange. I'm so used to facing only Touched, and now… it's almost as if I'm back on Earth." She grinned suddenly, as savage as ever. "And just _perfect._ How about keeping the Blade ship on the ground for a bit longer?"

Knowing where it is never hurt… Tobias agreed, but hesitantly. He was not sure what Rachel was planning, and he did not like it. What do you have in mind?

"Some innocent use of kata rajch," smiled Rachel ominously. "To expand that hole your ship made back to its original size. Or bigger."

Tobias climbed from Rachel's shoulder and down to her lower arm, to be able to place one talon next to her hand on the black pad she used to orient the fighter. The surrounding world crept up on him like a shadow, and he _felt it around him as if through a sixth sense – like some sort of distance-based touch._

Surrounding the gaping hole in the Blade ship's side was a force field, and when Tobias focused his attention on it he realised that it was not keeping still. Its surface was trembling, ever so slightly, and that slight tremble made it seem as if it would break apart any moment. But it did not – would not. For a second, Tobias wondered how force fields were constructed – but then he returned to the task at hand.

There's a force field in the way, he said.

"I know."

That might be a problem, Tobias pointed out.

Rachel shook her head slowly. "We'll go through it."

Ehm… Rach?

"Yes?"

The entire point of a force field is that you _can't go through it._

"Just watch," Rachel told him smugly.

Tobias secured the talons of his one foot tighter around her lower arm, and wished that the guidance pad had been easier to grip. He wondered quietly what the blind – and a bit mad, he admitted – Animorph was up to.

Rachel steered the small _Hawk towards the Blade ship, still giving an impression of just lazily hanging about. (That she was piloting the only lazily hanging about Kelbrid fighter in the neighbourhood did not seem to matter.) Then she turned the craft sharply towards the force field, giving the command for maximum speed and –_

Tobias lifted automatically from his perch with a Rachel, the force field, you'll _crash!_

The impact was… simply a gentle shudder, and then they had passed the force field. Rachel swung her craft around and began causing mayhem with the weapon her fighter was equipped with; twin canons of kata rajch, the same brilliantly blue energy beams that earlier had fascinated Olana.

Tobias, no longer aware of the fighter's surroundings, knew what was happening only from the humming sound the kata rajch canons caused as they fired. He did not know how long passed before he felt the shudder of passing the force field again, but when he did he fluttered up to Rachel's wrist again.

How did you do that?

"What?"

Pass the force field.

"A force field is artificial gravity that makes the air draw together and pack so tightly it feels solid. But at the tip of every Kelbrid fighter there is a gravity destabiliser that lets the fighter deactivate a part of the force field long enough to get past."

Oh, said Tobias eloquently. He placed a talon beside Rachel's hand again. They're sending out bugs.

"As if that would help," scoffed Rachel, smiling in anticipation as she spun the fighter around and sent out the twin blue energy beams at the closes bug. It was unprepared for the attack and swerved away in the wrong direction, unintentionally making the engine take a direct hit. It changed its course towards the ground, and at impact its nose was driven deep into the earth.

The smaller _Hawk spun aside to avoid being hit by a dracon, and Rachel steered it back towards the Blade ship and the force field._

In there we'll be caught in a trap, Tobias warned. They'd just have to wait for us to come back out.

"I know," Rachel muttered, and continued towards the force field, only darting sideways one or twice to avoid more dracons. Just at the last moment she made the fighter turn around sharply, coming to a violent stop and at once firing at the three pursuing bugs. They swerved off in alarm; one of them continued ahead, flying like a swan with a broken wing, staying airborne just long enough to reach the Blade ship and crash into it.

"Two down, two to go," Rachel announced. "Think this is distraction enough?"

Don't know, Tobias said. It'd certainly distract _me. But the Blade ship might have enough troops to send some to the __Rachel and still deal with one little Kelbrid fighter._

"Then they've underestimated this 'one Kelbrid fighter'," Rachel laughed. She was busy pursuing the next bug. The other was on her tail, firing madly, but that did not seem to bother her.

Finally, she got a clear shot, and the third bug fell in flames. Rachel veered the Hawk upwards, waited for the last bug to pass beneath her, and thereby received an excellent opportunity to blow that one to pieces as well.

The fourth followed the third to the ground.

"Now what?" wondered Rachel, obviously disappointed at the lack of more bugs as she let her fighter soar higher into the air to get a good look at more of the area around the Blade ship.

I think it's fairly obvious… Tobias said, noting their surroundings.

"What?"

Don't you see what I see?

"_Hey!" protested Rachel._

Sorry. I mean, down below us. A bug fighter parking lot. All those bugs, just sitting there, waiting to be turned into a huge pile of ash and rubble.

"I like how you're thinking…" murmured Rachel, something dangerous glimmering in her blind eyes. But then she shook her head. "But blow up a fighter while it's inactive? Ka'an wouldn't like it. That would be like blowing up people on foot – which is _cheating."_

You just burned a chunk off the Blade ship, Tobias reminded her, wondering at this unexpected streak of scruples.

"The Blade ship, right now, could count as a _house," Rachel said with a shrug. "You can blow up houses."_

You said it was to keep it on the ground.

"So that was a bonus. Besides, I've got a very personal grudge against the Blade ship." Rachel bit her lip, circling with her fighter over the parked bugs, indecisive. Finally she smiled again. "Then again, as I've been trying to tell Ka'an, the Yeerks don't play by the rules. Why should we? Let's blow up some bugs."

A storm was brewing outside, whipping up stronger and stronger winds, but the _arisths_ and Estrid were only dimly aware of it. Minalea had been right; the explanation about the _Intrepid Situation was in fact very long and very boring._

Strangely, it was Aralgo who first noticed that one of them was missing. He frowned, and said; Where is Minalea?

All stalks flew in wide circles as the others looked about.

She's probably gone to take a look at that ship, sighed Larynia finally.

Typical of her, agreed Olana.

We'll just have to go get her, Estrid said. The Kelbrid don't seem about to turn on us, but we should keep together.

I'll go, offered Carali.

You will, will you? teased Aralgo.

Carali ignored that and headed for the door of the _Phantom._

But suddenly Ka'an had appeared in the doorway, and he did not move out of the way – not even when Carali frowned at him.

"Scientist," said the Kelbrid, nodding shortly at Estrid. The air outside was whipping at the trees, beating at the sides of the ship, and almost hid his words. "The Touched have come to reclaim their ship. If yours is not hidden, they might claim that, too."

It is unstealable, Olana told him lowly.

"I do not think that will trouble them much," Ka'an said, ears leaning slightly out. "It will not be truly unstealable until it is burned to the ground. Then they will have to settle for its ashes."

Olana looked uncertain, obviously worried that Ka'an was _not simply making an example._

What did you say about the Touched? demanded Larynia.

"They have come to reclaim their ship," Ka'an said. He looked at them, one by one. "Were there not one more of you?"

Yes, murmured Estrid, frowning in worry. We better all go – except you, Olana; you take care of the ship. Olana flicked her tail in agreement, and the rest of the Andalites followed Estrid towards the doorway.

But Ka'an remained where he was, blocking their path. "Where are you going? This is not a game. The Touched are coming, and your ship needs to be hidden, and so do you yourselves. Do not expect any mercy or any kindness from _them only because you have seen it here. They do not like Andalites – __we do not like Andalites, but a __limith__ y'limith bond must be honoured." Something almost like concern passed his alien face, glimmering in the black of his eyes. "You should be kept safe, well hidden. And there is little time."_

We can't run and hide right now, Carali told the Kelbrid bluntly, tail inching up unconsciously behind him.

Minalea went to inspect that ship, Olana explained.

Ka'an said a word that the translating chip refused to translate – it was probably not a very nice word. Then he continued; "I shall send someone to look for her." He turned away, out of the _Phantom, and called an order – two orders. One Kelbrid gave a nod and sprang off towards the Jijfku ship, urging two others to follow (the Andalites saw this through their ship's windows), and one came towards the __Phantom._

"Ela'aki will show you where to hide your ship, and where to hide yourselves," Ka'an began, as he turned back towards the _arisths_ and the scientist. "I must –"

A swoop of wings was heard and a large, six-winged _kafit_ bird stormed past the Kelbrid, making him take a hurried step back. His horn flew forwards, but the _kafit_ had already caught the violent air beneath his wings and risen to the sky, too far up to be reached by horns. He had to work hard to even keep airborne, tossed about like a paper tissue in a hurricane.

"What was that?" Ka'an demanded of the remaining Andalites.

Don't know, lied Larynia.

What was what? wondered Aralgo.

Never seen one of _those before, declared Olana._

Ka'an lay his head to the side suspiciously. "Scientist?"

Yes? Estrid wondered innocently.

Ka'an looked about. Ela'aki waited patiently behind him, but Ka'an did not seem to notice. His attention was on the Andalites. "Now," he muttered, sounding annoyed, "_two of you are missing."_

How odd, Estrid said pleasantly.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Author's Note;

*blinks in surprise* Incredible. It's finally finished. Have even updated a few of the older chapters. And been intimidated by the sheer length of this story.At the moment, it's exactly 300 pages.

A new (old?) picture of pretty little kii-raja has been added, here; http://www.livejournal.com/talkpost.bml?journal=stormfairy&itemid=25561

Also, I've sketched two Kelbrid pictures, and I might scan them in a few days and put them up as well.

I found one review-reply waiting patiently in a half-forgotten document. Super hurricane suggested that they could morph Hork-Bajir, and the Kelbrids' horns would simply be shredded. The reply was this;

Check chapter 18; _…[__Carali__] tried to cut the horns with his blade, only to find that it was like trying to cut through a wall. The horns would not be shredded (not in my version of the Kelbrid… which I have Wonderful Dictatorship Rights over). Remember the cape buffalo's horns, which (according to somewhere in some book which I can't find for the moment) are so hard that bullets bounce off them? Kelbrid horns are not as bad, and they're flexible, but they wouldn't be shredded by Hork-Bajir blades._

It's a good idea. But that would make things too easy. And I can't let this story get away with _easy._


	37. How to deal with kiirajas

How to deal with kii-rajas

Finding the Jijfku ship was easy enough. It was _enormous_. Reaching it was harder. The storm made it difficult for Carali to fly, and as Cava'ara's atmosphere was thin his heavy _kafit_ body almost fell to the ground as soon as the winds released their grip for the slightest moment. And around the ship itself, black arrowhead fighters were engaged in the deadly dance of battle, and blue energy beams where everywhere.

Even after reaching the ship (and being surprised he'd managed it) it took him a while to find an entrance. The one he finally found had been left open by someone earlier.

That sent off every warning bell he had in his mind. A door left open? Very suspicious. But he slipped inside and hurriedly demorphed, feeling much better once he had his tail-blade back.

He was in a corridor, and there were two directions to choose from. At the end of each there were two new corridors to choose from.

Finding anything or anyone would be difficult, he knew, remembering the sheer size of the ship with a slight shudder. The Touched would take the entire ship before he had a chance to search a hundredth of it.

There was another way. He gathered up some willpower and sent out a thought-roar of _Minalea_!

The force of the call made him stagger, his mind blanching in protest, stunned. It took him a moment to recover, and another to realise that there had been no reply.

_Out of thought-speech range_, he thought angrily.

He needed to get deeper into the ship. He chose a direction on random and galloped off down the corridor. At the end he chose the path leading towards the middle of the ship.

After having taken a fourth turn, he gathered up his mind again and let out a second thought-roar.

His head rang like a bell. It took so much energy to roar like that… people had even been known to black out completely from the effort, and the blinding intensity of the roar itself was infamous for causing sharp headaches in anyone unlucky enough to be close by.

But Carali did not have the time or patience to arrange a mirror-wave call, and normal thought-speech did not have the reach of the roar. His choices were limited.

He needed a short while to collect himself before he continued, further into the ship, past four more turns. His hooves thundered against the steel floor.

The third call made him dizzy, sending him down to his knees. Whatever strength his thought-speech centres had held was gone, and now it was stealing energy from his senses of balance and orientation. He realised that another call would render him unconscious.

Fortunately, this time there was a reply; Carali, what's the matter, why are you roaring?

Carali was relieved to hear that the other _aristh_ was in normal thought-speech range. He managed a staggering answer of; Touched. They'll take… the ship. We must leave.

_Touched_? questioned Minalea anxiously. Ka'an had explained about the Touched, the One… and their bond to the Yeerks.

Leave this ship, _and quickly_, rasped Carali, climbing back up on all fours. He followed his own advice, trotting off in the direction he had come from, almost stumbling over his own hooves in the procedure.

You sound tired, said Minalea, her voice now more distant.

A few thought-roars too many, replied Carali wearily. Nothing to worry about.

You'll manage out?

Of course.

Minalea's thought-speech voice was very faint, but Carali was sure he caught the words; I certainly hope so.

He frowned, going from a trot to a canter. He felt much better. Perhaps that was just his mind playing tricks on him to first let him get out alive and _then_ feel horrible, but did that matter?

He felt fine.

Of course, when he turned a corner and came face to face with a dozen Touched, he did not feel so fine anymore.

His tail was up in attack at once, and before anyone could blink… before anyone could blink, his legs were swept out from under him by whipping horns, his tail was secured and held unmoving, and he was leaning his upper body on both arms, having just barely avoided falling flat on his face.

He looked up to meet the unnatural green-shining eyes of a Kelbrid Touched, and to hear that Kelbrid speak; "Andalite scum. Arrogant deal-breaker, pitiful liar, person-who-honours-no-borders. You are not welcome here. You are not meant to be here."

The back of the Kelbrid's hand, and the cold flat side of his wrist blade, struck at Carali's face.

The Andalite's entire head was snapped to the side, but he straightened again. The blow only succeeded in angering him, making him determined, awakening his pride and fuelling his hate.

At once another Kelbrid took the place of the first, and also the back of his hand swept at Carali's head. Carali refused to acknowledge the sharp pain and kept his shoulders squared and his upper back straight. But a third replaced the second, repeated the single blow, and then a fourth, a fifth, and so on.

Systematically but slowly the pride, the will to fight back and refuse to give in, was torn apart. Strike after strike, none of them hard, multiplied until the side of his head was numb down to his shoulder, and still the blows rained unrelenting.

He was unsure of how many had struck him – or how many times they had struck him _each_ – when his arms gave up and refused to support his upper body, and his balance could no longer keep his back straight. He sagged down to the floor. None of the Kelbrid had hit hard enough to knock him out. They had not meant to; he knew that, and he longed for the bliss of unfeeling unconsciousness. A dream compared to this humiliation.

With his head now conveniently located at floor lever, the Touched resorted to kicking. They kicked harder than they had hit. Finally, as the side of the third giant claw struck his face, the _aristh_ blacked out.

"Two more," announced Jeanne, looking up in the direction Tom was glaring. The beast started forwards, and the human went after at a quick jog. Tom had quickly gotten the picture of their task; find the enemy. Get rid of him.

_Hunting_. And it fitted the large kii-raja perfectly.

Melissa, still in her buffalo morph, followed, but she kept a safe distance to the beast.

It was Jeanne who realised that the two Tom had spotted were in fact Santorelli chasing a Yeerk; a rhino following a leopard. The rhino was tiring.

"Let's help," Jeanne decided, and set off on an intercept course to the rhino and the leopard.

Don't send Tom, Melissa warned. This one's mine… I'm sick of missing all the fun.

Jeanne snatched hold of Tom's ear and slowed down. Tom growled, but obeyed. Melissa, the cape buffalo, sped up and she must have called something to Santorelli, for the rhino dropped speed and turned to Jeanne. He trotted slowly towards her, tossing his head back. How's it going?

Jeanne shrugged. She saw Melissa disappear in amongst the trees with a certain degree of concern, but then shrugged it off. Melissa could call for help if she needed it. "Tom's been helpful – too helpful. Melissa got bored."

Not surprising, laughed Santorelli, coming to a stop at a wary distance from the kii-raja, who was glaring viciously at him with his head lowered and his formidable teeth bared in warning.

Jeanne made an attempt to step closer to the rhino – she didn't want to have to speak so loudly.

But Tom had other plans. He moved forwards to block her path, glancing accusingly up at her, before snarling at Santorelli.

"Out of my way, Tom," muttered Jeanne and tried to pass him.

Tom moved again to keep in front of her, despite Jeanne's grip on his ear, not for a moment taking his golden eyes off the rhino. He was growling so fiercely that the spikes on his back trembled.

"It's just Santorelli," said Jeanne, frowning.

You've got him under control, haven't you? Santorelli asked, sounding nervous.

Jeanne shook her head. For safety, she adjusted her hold on Tom's ear to keep him in place. "He doesn't listen to a word I say. He just follows me around, guarding me… because Rachel told him to. I don't even have anything to bribe him with!"

I think he's after fresh rhino, snorted Santorelli, pawing the ground and backing off.

"Don't be silly, he's just –" But Jeanne never finished the sentence, for the beast stopped her again from passing him. She frowned.

Tom saw the expression as he glanced up at her, but it didn't concern him much. The creature could think what she wanted to – he'd been told to guard her, and that's exactly what he was going to do. He didn't care what she thought of it.

But the creature was foolish, trying to pass him. It angered him – he'd shown her danger, and yet she didn't allow him to handle it, and even tried to get closer to it. Dumb creature – why didn't she understand?

He wanted his human. His human understood him. His human would have known what he was trying to say. His human… had told him to guard this creature, this other human.

He let out a whine, casting a short look at the human beside him, and then glaring at the other; the large, heavy creature. The _others_… both of them.

For there _were_ two. One could be seen. The second was unseen, but very real, very much in control, and very obvious to Tom's acute sense of smell. Together, they presented a danger.

That, if anything, he knew, and he was very pleased with himself for knowing that. His human would approve.

But why didn't the creature understand? His human would have understood. His human would have understood, because… because he'd have_ shown_ her.

_Show_ _the_ _creature_? came the unbidden thought.

No. The creature was not his master, not his leader, not his beloved human. He only _showed_ his human.

But his human had told him to keep the creature safe. For that, the creature needed to stop being foolish – needed to _understand_. For that, he needed to show what she could not see.

That struck a pleasant cord. Tom knew _that_, too, and knew it well. Yes; _show_ what could not be seen.

But no. No no _no_. Only _show_ his human. Only –

The large beast whined again, thoroughly unhappy. He wanted his human. His human understood him.__

At first Minalea had thought that he was dead – dead, for how could he possibly be alive?

She was so relieved when she saw the slow, slight rise and fall of Carali's stomach that she forgot to protest as the Touched pushed her into a fighter, hurriedly. Normally, she would of course have resisted. A little, at least – it was a matter of principles. But not enough for them to decide she was more trouble than she was worth, and therefore kill her.

Minalea knew the border between resisting on principles and resisting "foolishly". Most Andalites would resist "foolishly", due to their pride. Minalea preferred to bide her time, wait for an opportunity, and then discreetly disappear.

Opportunities always appeared, sooner or later. Only in an emergency would Minalea cross the very fine line and resist "foolishly".

The situation suddenly turned into an emergency.

Minalea's stalks saw that Carali was being dragged towards another fighter from the one she had been shoved into.

Being a prisoner was not a good scenario, she knew. But at least she had not been alone. Carali had been there, too. He was not the best of company while unconscious, but he had _been there_. And now he was not. They were being separated.

Hold on one moment… she said to no-one in particular, dug her hooves into the fighter's ramp and began backing out of the fighter again. The other _aristh_ was disappearing out of sight, and she did _not_ like it.

The Kelbrid female in the fighter whipped her horns out, securing Minalea's front legs and yanking them forwards. Her hocks were attacked by the blunt side of a young Kelbrid's wrist blades. She fell heavily with a cry of protest, that ended as her belly slammed against the floor and all air was beaten out of her lungs. Before she could recover, the two Kelbrid had manoeuvred her further into the fighter, up by a wall.

Her hands and tail were already tied together by several loops of chains of thin but strong chains, and now a second chain tied her left arm to a handle on the wall.

The handle, unfortunately, was just high enough to make lying down impossible – it would disjoint her shoulder – and standing up just as impossible – her arm would be pulled too far down. Minalea ended up awkwardly balanced on her front knees.

Her knees were not made to take her weight like that. They would bruise. They would hurt. After only minutes, when the fighter began a speedy ascent into the skies, her poor knees were aching, protesting, and Minalea could do nothing for them.

And, now alone with a Touched and a Kelbrid child, she was very afraid.

Waiting in the hidden _Phantom_, away from the battle, the group of young Andalites were tense but bored – which is not a good combination. Ela'aki sat on a counter, looking most like a perched bird, saying nothing to the more and more restless _aristh_s.

The Andalite cruiser had been turned off completely, to avoid detection. Therefore it did not notice the approaching Kelbrid fighter. Ela'aki – who was watching the skies above the trees through the windows – did. She leapt from the counter, to the floor, and pointed at the fighter to get the Andalites' attentions to it.

"Danger is over," she said simply. There was a strange tone of grumpiness in her voice, as if she had just missed a party.

Olana activated the cruiser and opened the door. The fighter had landed, and Ka'an came out, his horns whipping above his head. As soon as he could enter the _Phantom _he made a dismissing gesture at Ela'aki, who slammed one hand against her other shoulder, turned, and at once sped off.

Well? demanded Larynia.

"The ship is gone," Ka'an reported grimly. "There was, as always, too many of the Touched."

What about our friends? clarified Aralgo.

"They were not found. We did however find those I sent to bring back your friends. They had been thrown out of the ship as the Touched lifted it out of the atmosphere."

Dead? Estrid questioned quietly.

"That would be the term for their condition, yes," confirmed Ka'an with a short nod. For a fleeting moment his eyes grew even darker than their ordinary black, but then the expression was gone. "The Touched know it is unwise to carry along the dead in a ship. If the stench of rotting corpses begins to flow through a ship, it stays a very long time." He made a strange gesture; a combination of his left horn and left hand. "And it is bad luck to carry the dead from the planet where they died. The _Ami'in-y'akka-y'Imar_become very upset." At the Andalites' questioning glances he explained; "The _Ami'in-y'akka-y'Imar_ are goddesses… a wise Kelbrid does not take their anger lightly."

Olana frowned, and Estrid looked mildly surprised to hear of Kelbrid gods or goddesses, but Aralgo – as usual – was not easily sidetracked. They have been taken prisoner?

"Kelbrid do not take non-Kelbrid prisoners –" began Ka'an darkly.

Then they are dead? whispered Olana, wide-eyed.

"They are –"

No, muttered Larynia. That's what he was just telling us… in a few extra words. If they were dead they would not have been kept in the ship – they would have been abandoned on the planet, and we would have found their bodies. But there were no Andalite bodies. She peered at the Kelbrid with her stalks. Or were there?

Then – tried Olana, but grew instantly quiet as Ka'an's horns whipped past in front of her face, a loud _crack_ interrupting her.

"If I am allowed to finish," growled the Kelbrid impatiently. He glared at each of them in turn, and continued; "Very rarely do Kelbrid take prisoners – beyond pressing for information and providing a quick death. The Touched have never been known to take non-Kelbrid prisoners at all – _not for themselves_. They do, however, take prisoners _for Yeerks_."

Yeerks! cried Aralgo in alarm, his tail flying up.

We need to head for the Blade ship, Estrid said. Where is it?

"On Dina'amm, scientist," Ka'an supplied, but hesitantly. "It is very dangerous. I would prefer if you reconsidered."

What's there to reconsider? wondered Larynia snappishly. Our friends are there – the Yeerks are there. Anything we missed?

"Only the One. And two million Touched."

The bug fighters, standing in neat lines on the ground, just waiting to be attacked, did not keep that passivity for long.

Taxxons and Hork-Bajir, mixed in with humans, appeared and rushed towards the bugs in order to get them off the ground an in pursuit of the lone, small, but annoying, Kelbrid fighter that was attacking them.

Rachel patiently waited for each bug to hum into motion, and as soon as it left the ground she fired at its engines, causing it to crash – often into a nearby fighter. But the rate of rising bug fighters increased quickly, and finally there were simply too many of them. She turned and headed in amongst the trees – _not_ heading towards the _Rachel_, of course.

Even Tobias, whose experience with fighter crafts was somewhat limited, could see that once in among the trees the bug fighters were chanceless.

It was the _Tom and Jerry_ show of fighting crafts, with too many Toms. The Toms gave chase but the Jerry scored the hits.

Rachel and the _Hawk _were perfectly adapted for flitting in and out amongst the trees, swerving around and above and beneath the stems and branches. The bugs reminded Tobias of elephants with rocket roller-skates shoved into a glass-and-mirrors labyrinth; they didn't know where to go, and couldn't turn quickly enough to get there.

He hung tightly to his perch on Rachel's wrist as the small fighter sped through its break-neck manoeuvring.

Rachel, grinning savagely as she fired at the rear of another bug fighter, recognized his cramp-like grip. "What?" she said. "Don't you trust me?"

Of course I trust you. It's just that I also trust your ability to get too deep into a battle.

"The trees are doing all the work for me," shrugged Rachel – another bug had just been trapped in the mishmash of branches. "There's not much for me to do." She spun the fighter about, firing at a bug that had been at their tail, and momentum carried the _Hawk_ in a loop and back facing the right direction.

Maybe we should head back to the others, said Tobias. We've done enough here.

"Spoilsport."

Besides, wasn't the distraction meant to be closer to the Blade ship?

"What, Jake gave you a meter stick and a distance?"

Not exactly. But we _are_ getting a bit far away.

Rachel shrugged, but spun the _Hawk_ around again, towards the Blade ship, and powered ahead. A bug fighter swerved out of the smaller craft's way and flew into a tree.

It took a few moments for the Yeerk fighters to turn. They were not as agile as the Kelbrid-designed _Hawk_. Kelbrid, living in trees, of course adapted their fighters for the same. By the time the Yeerk fighters took up the chase, the _Hawk_ was skimming the tree line again. The bugs rose higher into the air in order to get a clear shot, but Rachel dove back into the cover of the trees and thereby forced the bugs to follow.

They came out from the trees by the bug fighter parking lot. A few parked bugs were incinerated, just for the fun of it. The _Hawk_ sped on to the Blade ship itself, and used the larger ship as a shield to turn behind and fire back at the pursuers.

Is it just me, mused Tobias, or are there a lot fewer of them than there were before?

"I claim innocence." 

You do, do you?

"It's not my fault they can't fly," scoffed the human Animorph.

No. But it's your fault they'll never have a chance to learn.

"Tragic," said Rachel nonchalantly. "Back to the others?"

That was the plan.

Rachel nodded, once, steering the _Hawk_ about to disappear in amongst the trees again, before the bugs came around the Blade ship – and the sensor protection it offered – and saw where she was heading.

Then she pulled the _Hawk_ to a sudden halt and let it hover. Rachel frowned, focusing on some information the fighter was transmitting to her.

What is it? Tobias wondered sharply.

But the blind Animorph was not listening. "_Ky'y__ leth'art i'i_…" she whispered, incredulous, and due to her tone it was not hard to understand the strange words; _it can't be_.

JaLa'an had, despite the dangerous life of a Kelbrid, never broken any bones. Now he was almost blinded by the shock of pain in his hands, and from his toes up to his knees. For a number of precious seconds he couldn't move, and found himself fighting an onslaught of complete paralysis.

Then he pushed the agony aside, as he had done so many times before, and forced himself to calmly list his injuries. His left wrist had snapped. His right hand was numb, the three fingers refusing to function. His right foot seemed unharmed, but the knee above had hit the ground and shattered. His left foot had one crushed toe, but was otherwise unharmed. The ache in his side announced broken ribs. The tendons in his shoulders complained, having been strained. His forehead was bleeding from hitting the ground.

He didn't even bother to count the scratches and bruises.

The gleaming green pupils of a Kelbrid Touched blinked above him, watching him. Other Touched stood all around.

JaLa'an needed to get up. He couldn't remain on the ground. He did not want to die lying on the ground. It was humiliating. _Unacceptable_. For a moment he wished for the _primlar_ roots in his pack. Better to die a death of his own choosing. But the roots and the pack were in his fighter, and out of his reach.

He leaned onto his elbows, which hurt but worked normally, and shuffled in his left foot beneath him. His tail helped push him to his feet. He couldn't place any weight on his right leg – he knew that, but yet had to try. Had to know his limits, if it came to a battle.

He fell to the side as the leg instantly folded. A Touched grabbed his shoulder to steady him. He looked up in surprise, wondering if he should pull free – despite that he'd fall flat on his face if he did.

"_Ka'ir_-_ya'aysh_," muttered the Touched. Her hand reached up to brush past her shoulder in a quick bow. "We are _Arnaha_. You called?"

Now standing, JaLa'an could look around him. Those surrounding him were eying him curiously – and with envy, glancing constantly towards the white pupils of his eyes. (He wondered if they had noticed his injuries, but reached the conclusion that if they truly were _Arnaha_, and believers in the freedom of not being Touched, they would gladly take any injury if it came with white pupils.) Those outside that first ring formed two loose lines of defence, keeping other Touched out.

JaLa'an could hardly believe his eyes. But that quickly passed. Had he called for _Arnaha_? He almost smiled.

"I did," he said. Had he expected any reaction? No.

The Touched who had spoken flicked her tail in concern. "I am _cer_…" She frowned for a moment, trying to remember, and finished; "_Cer_ TiKa'yl. We fight _your_ battle this day, _ka'ir-ya'aysh_, but only for a short time. As soon as the Whole realises what is happening, our horns and blades will turn against you. You understand this?"

"Yes," said JaLa'an, swaying where he stood, thankful when TiKa'yl and another Touched helped steady him.

"Then tell us your purpose, quickly, and we shall see it done."

JaLa'an shortly explained their goal of finding Ni'ilu, to repay a favour, and murmurs spread through the circle of green-pupilled Kelbrid. But TiKa'yl snapped a few harsh words and the group came to order, quickly and effectively, as good Kelbrid should.

"Can you walk?" asked the _cer__ y'yhan_ then.

"If I must. If I can't, I shall crawl."

"You are in no state for battle. You should return to your fighter and head back where you came from… Cava'ara, I suppose?"

"Correct. And my friend?"

"She is being aided by others from _Arnaha_, and the children. Her own child is safe from the Priests."

JaLa'an believed the Touched's words. First of all, he had no choice. Second, and more important, Kelbrid seldom dishonoured themselves by speaking untruths.

Not trusting themselves, _Arnaha_ sent JaLa'an back to his fighter escorted by two Kelbrid youngsters. The two did not stay long; they disappeared up into the trees, heading for their parents' fighters.

_The One will lose many potential Chosen this day_, thought JaLa'an, grimly pleased. He sat outside his fighter, having decided to wait for Sira'aki. But he soon shuffled closer to the craft, opening the hatch and dragging himself painfully inside. He reached for his pack – using his horns – and yanked it closer. It took him time to open it. He had one functional thumb, but no working fingers. Horns were not made for detail work, and neither were wrist blades.

Finally he fished out the folded cloth, and spread the contents – tangles of thin, dry, brownish-grey roots – on the fighter's floor. Thin roots, _primlar, now easily accessible for when or if he would need them. But he also dug up small, purple leaves, which he put in his mouth, chewed and swallowed. _Pha'ara_, against the pain. Finally he retrieved the fighter's remote control and laid it beside him, ready to flick the switch when that time came._

He sat back, leaned against the familiar fighter's wall, watching the outside through the still-open hatch and the large window.

JaLa'an was not sure how long he waited when KEdi'ir appeared in the hatch. The child had landed there after leaping from a tree above. He had landed leaned to his left; his right leg was injured.

"Alive?" he said, not commenting the _primlar__ or the remote control._

JaLa'an nodded. "And you?"

"All three of us," announced KEdi'ir happily. "Ni'ilu, too."

"Good," said JaLa'an, nodding again, but otherwise not moving. "Go to Sira'aki. Get back to Cava'ara. Live well."

KEdi'ir hesitated, his gaze straying towards the _primlar_, and the fighter's remote control, some trace of understanding on his young face. "You are… not coming with us?"

JaLa'an raised his two broken hands. "I cannot fly a fighter," he said in a voice, almost like a whisper, except for the fact that Kelbrid did not whisper without reason. And now, there was no reason. "Go to your mother, KEdi'ir. _Now_."

KEdi'ir went.

You _can't_ be serious, said Aralgo.

Can and am, replied Larynia. If that's where Carali and Minalea are, we're heading to Dina'amm.

There are _Yeerks_ there. I don't like them. I've had enough of them to last a lifetime already. In fact, he added, a thought striking him, and he pointed at his head; See this? I like this just the way it is. That is, Yeerk-free, and still attached to my shoulders.

What about Carali's head, and Minalea's? asked Estrid lowly, and Aralgo grew silent. _Still_, continued the scientist, main eyes on Aralgo but stalks swivelling in a questioning manner to Larynia. Dina'amm…

_Two million Touched_, Aralgo reminded them.

Fewer, if they get in our way, said Larynia dismissingly.

The One is there, too, Olana pointed out.

Another reason to go, Estrid said, determined. The One has Aximili.

Aralgo frowned at her. As far as I see it, he began, the One is someone to keep away from, no matter who he's keeping prisoner. At least if there's only the four of us. Besides, you told me he was _two_-dimensional, untouchable. How are we supposed to do any good – for anyone except the One, that is?

Not two-dimensional, muttered Estrid, gaze off in the distance, lost in thoughts. My estimate would be seven.

_Seven_? Larynia questioned sharply.

Could be seventeen.

Why not two? complained Aralgo with a grimace. I liked _two_. Nice, uncomplicated _low_ number.

A two-dimensional creature could never control a three-dimensional one, Estrid explained. Judging from which dimensions he has shown, and that he trapped Aximili… and what Ka'an told us about his ability to keep the Touched in control… my optimistic estimate is seven dimensions.

_Optimistic_? echoed Larynia dryly.

The more dimensions, the more powerful. The next alternative is seventeen dimensions. After that, twenty-three. Take your pick.

How did you figure all that out? Olana wondered.

Estrid sighed. I applied a certain branch of partometaphysics and Nomili's Principles to some interesting, theoretical _n_-dimensional equations. All of it strictly taphulicytric, of course.

Larynia and Olana both blinked, blank looks on their faces, while Aralgo scoffed loudly. Nomili! That old fool? Has anyone ever taken him truly seriously?

Unfortunately not, said the scientist.

He studies the Ellimist Phenomena, laughed Aralgo in explanation to the other two _aristh_s. He claims to be able to prove _and_ _explain_ the Ellimist's existence through _numbers_.

Imaginary numbers, corrected Estrid, sounding bored. Obviously she had encountered scepticism concerning this specific line of study before. The square root of negative one, to name a simple example. And as far as I can tell, most of Nomili's studies are well-founded.

In what? Lunacy?

Plintconarythmics. _Advanced_ plintconarythmics.

Now, Aralgo looked blank. Then turned defensive. And what, exactly, would you know of that?

I'm a scientist, Aralgo, Estrid reminded him.

What is your area of study? Don't tell me _plintconarythmics_. That's not possible. That would make you –

A genius, Estrid supplied.

Something like that, yes, the _aristh_ agreed, now frowning.

But it's not plintconarythmics. I use plinconarythmics as a basis. Somewhere to start. Like you learn addition in order to advance to multiplication and powers of.

Then what do you study? asked Olana lowly.

Quantum viruses. Programmable viruses – viruses programmed in these dimensions and others. But they tend to flux. Nomili's Principles, _Aralgo_, can help predict and control them.

And you think they could be applied to the One, predict and control him? Larynia questioned. And free my cousin?

I _hope_ they will help us free Aximili. But _control the One_? Not likely. The viruses are controllable because they can be adapted, from one generation to the next. We can't do that with the One.

Aralgo sighed heavily, resigned, and said; So due to doubtable theories of a half-mad philosopher-mathematician called Nomili we are going to a planet filled with angry Touched, horrid Yeerks, and a multi-dimensional Ellimist-copy?

Ellimist-copy? echoed Olana.

It's already a bad scenario, so why not?

We're going to help out friends, Estrid clarified. All three of them, if we can.

If Ka'an lets us, Olana added.

Three sets of questioning stalks swivelled towards her.

Well, she continued, tugging nervously at a stalk, he didn't seem to _like_ the idea. He might stop us from leaving.

Why would he do that? Larynia scoffed.

"Because we do not sent children to war _alone_," Ka'an's voice came from the doorway. He had a nasty habit of appearing when he was least expected. All stalks turned towards him instead.

We are _not_ children, Larynia informed him.

"No matter. You are not leaving Cava'ara so foolishly." He leaned his ears out in an expression the Andalites still could not decipher. "Whether or not you are youngsters I cannot tell – I'm no Andalite – but you're being impulsive. Rush to Dina'amm and trust to luck?"

Do you have a better idea? asked Aralgo lowly.

"Bring someone who knows Dina'amm – and the Touched."

Who?

"I shall follow you myself," Ka'an told them. Then grimaced. "Few here are fond enough of Andalites to be willing to help you. _I_ am not fond of Andalites. I offer my help only because of Rachel. She has taken the Andalite side in this Yeerk-Andalite war, which I know little of except for what she's told me. But she has fought with me and mine for long. It is time to repay the favour."

We don't need a guide, Aralgo said. Both military training and Andalite pride protested violently against the idea.

 "Then you are staying here."

_Make us_, growled Larynia.

"If that is your wish," sighed the Kelbrid.

Estrid slowly crossed her arms over her chest and gave Ka'an a long, studying look. If you want your people to stop us leaving, you'll have to give them that order – before we take off.

"Yes."

You can't do that if we simply knock you out and take off.

"Threats are futile."

We are four to one.

"Yes. Poor you."

Estrid shook her head, slowly. Ka'an recognized the gesture and his ears twitched in question. Ka'an, said the scientist slowly. You can't keep us here against our will. It's not right.

"You chose right over your life, scientist? Alone on Dina'amm, you all –"

But the Animorphs are there, Aralgo pointed out.

"With people who know the Touched, and Dina'amm." He flicked his tail. "For all this talk, you've forgotten one thing."

What? asked Estrid.

"How do you plan to even _find_ Dina'amm without a guide?"

The _aristh_s and Estrid exchanged stalk-glances, the frown on one's face mirrored on the next's.

Hate to say it, Olana murmured, again tugging at a stalk. But he's right.

"What's with him, anyway?" Jeanne asked no-one in particular. Tom was still positioned between her and the rhino that was Santorelli, teeth bared in obvious warning. But the hold on his ear kept him back… not because he'd worry about a torn ear, but because he had long ago understood that a hold on his ear was meant to restrain him.

I don't know, said Santorelli nervously, still carefully keeping back. But I don't like it. Make him lie down – or make him go away. Even better.

Jeanne tried the first alternative. She sat down, tugged at Tom's ear and slapped the ground in front of his front paws encouragingly. Tom, though, didn't move. He whined, glancing at Jeanne and licking his nose, and then resumed his glaring.

"I can't figure why he's –" began Jeanne, but then suddenly her face grew expressionless, like someone listening to private thought-speech. Then she, too, glared at the rhino, sudden understanding dawning on her face. "So _that's_ why. No wonder you want me to sent Tom off, Santorelli. You've gone and gotten infested."

The rhino tossed his head back in protest. Infested! Who – me? Why –

"Tom told me," Jeanne continued, scratching the beast's head affectionately. "Such a nice kii-raja. Good kii-raja." Then she looked up at Santorelli again. "You make one move in the wrong direction, and I'll let go of his ear. If I do, you're history."

So would your friend be, growled Santorelli – no, _the Yeerk_ – in reply.

Jeanne shrugged. "Not necessarily. Point is, you're coming with me, nice and easy, back to the others."

The Yeerk actually laughed. No. No, I don't think so. See, there's one _tiny_ detail that you seem to have forgotten.

"And what's that?" demanded Jeanne.

_Yaysh_.

Which, of course, was exactly what Tom had been waiting for. He tore free from Jeanne's grip and set off at once, giving the human no more than the quickest of glances as he passed her – only enough to make sure he didn't barrel right into her.

Jeanne called out, spun around and even ran a step or two after him, trying to catch hold of his tail, but she slowed to a stop when she realised how useless it was. She turned back towards Santorelli, slowly, already tensing for an attack she knew would come.

She watched the rhino lower his head, all while hearing him laugh in thought-speech at how easily he had made the kii-raja abandon her.

Jeanne took a deep breath to calm herself. It didn't help much; for just then, the rhino charged.

"_Pas bien_." 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Author's Note;

This chapter's been lying almost-finished on my computer for about two weeks. Now it's up – as you've probably noticed.

Kelbrid picture can be found here: www.livejournal.com/talkpost.bml?journal=stormfairy&itemid=32383 

It probably doesn't look like whatever picture someone who's reading this story has in their head, but it's the picture of Kelbrid I've had in my head. It's how I've intended to describe them. Tell me if I've failed miserably.

That was all.


	38. What is meant by a'al and ge'ari

What is meant by _a'al_ and _ge'ari_

The rhino lowered his head and shoved, almost gently, at the unmoving form on the ground in front of him. There was no response; the human rolled limply over on her back as he shoved. Still breathing, still alive, but not going anywhere for a while. He shoved again, so she rolled over to lie on her stomach, head on the side. Still, there was no reaction.

Perfect.

She'd tried to avoid the charge, of course, moving to the side. His head and horns had missed her; his shoulder had struck, sending her flying into a tree; and then dumped not-so-gracefully to the ground by simple gravity. Knocked unconscious. By him, tree, or ground, he didn't know, and it didn't matter.

He'd sent his host – his voluntary host, in leopard morph – back towards the nearest control centre to warn about the attack, and the presence of Animorphs. That damn cape buffalo was little cause for worry, merely a nuisance.

The kii-raja had been the threat. With the kii-raja out of the way, at least for a while, things should go very smoothly. And when the kii-raja returned… there _were_ ways of dealing with kii-rajas. Besides, by then, it wouldn't matter.

He turned his new host towards the cruiser ship – the _Rachel_, as the sentimental wretches had named it.

The new host was silent. He'd been told once, by a freed involuntary on Earth, that staying still and quiet made it harder for the Yeerk to find what it sought, and to reach the host's mind. The Yeerk would still find what he looked for, but not as easily. Like opening a window. If you don't open it, the thief will smash it and climb inside, maybe cut himself on a shard of glass or two. But if you _do_ open it, the thief has easy access.

The Yeerk felt a mental sneer.

It would never strike him to inform his host of how correct that was.

Fool host.

What is it? Tobias asked at once, on instant alert at Rachel's tone.

Rachel shook herself, frowning, her hand being lifted from the black pad, shaken, and replaced there. "It's _impossible_, that's what it is," she muttered. "Not even the One could be mad enough to… no, he couldn't control the thing, he'd have no use for it…"

Control _what_?

"See for yourself," Rachel said, collecting herself again.

Tobias put a talon on the black pad, beside Rachel's hand. He was almost disappointed. A _kii__-raja_?

But the blind Animorph shook her head. "Three blades on his tail, not one. Four toes, not three. No blades on his hind legs. Also, too _big_. That's an _a'al_ kii-raja. A great kii-raja. A dominant kii-raja."

And Tom would be..?

"_Ge'ari_ kii-raja. Lesser. Submissive. Kii-rajas live in pairs, remember? One dominant, one submissive. You can train the submissive kii-rajas. They're useful. They'll stay with whomever they learn is their master. But not the greats. The greats are only one thing, and that's dangerous. A great will eat a Kelbrid if he can catch one, and he _can_ – even a lesser can catch a Kelbrid, and a great is bigger, stronger. They're born from lessers, in the same litters, but they're killed at birth. Obviously this one wasn't. I can't figure why any Kelbrid would allow it," Rachel said, forehead wrinkled. She had been ranting in a very un-Rachel like way, obviously troubled.

Maybe it wasn't the Kelbrid.

"Yeerks?"

A host body like that? Tobias said grimly. Do you think they'd pass the opportunity if it came?

"There's a reason why they're called dominant. _Host_?" Rachel scoffed. "That'd be like controlling a hungry Taxxon."

Have you ever seen them try?

"No."

Have you ever even _seen_ one of these, alive?

"No," she admitted grumpily. "But I've heard more than enough about them. Tobias, we can't leave it here."

Tobias gave her a sharp, surprised look. We're _taking it with us_?

"No. We're killing it."

With that, the _Hawk_ came into motion again, heading towards the _a'al_ kii-raja. But soon, Rachel pulled it up to a halt, frowning and fingering the pad.

There was something not quite right about that _a'al_ kii-raja. It was moving as if running, but getting nowhere, only ripping earth and grass out of the ground. Now and again it would shake its head – its entire body – in helpless fury, but still get nowhere.

But as the kii-raja was lifted off the ground, into the air, she noted the bug fighter not too far above it, and realised… _tractor beam_. The kii-raja was trapped in a tractor beam.

"You were right, Tobias," she said. "Yeerks."

The _Hawk_ took refuge in among the trees, where the bug would not detect the small Kelbrid fighter unless it searched for it.

What are they up to?

"I don't know. But I don't like the thought of an _a'al_ kii-raja in Yeerk hands."

Or _any_ kii-raja in Yeerk hands, Tobias added.

He was surprised to hear a sharp Kelbrid word – probably not a very nice word – coming out of Rachel's mouth.

What?

"They're heading for the _Rachel_."

That basically means they know we're stealing it back.

"That basically means we're _not_," Rachel amended. "The _a'al_ kii-raja will ruin everything."

Then we need to get there before the bug.

"Already on our way," said Rachel grimly, spinning the _Hawk_ around and setting it at maximum speed.

By the time the fighter slowed to a stop and the hatch to the outside opened, Minalea had lost all feeling in her knees, and had sagged resignedly against the wall for what support it could offer, despite the strain on her shoulder.

When the Kelbrid child loosened her ties to the wall she fell to the floor, and to get her up and out of the fighter the two Kelbrid had to help her wobble along, on front legs that were all too stiff to move properly – but still managed to constantly fold beneath her weight.

They gave her little time to take in what was around her, and all she managed to note were large – _impossibly_ large – trees, all too many Touched for her liking, and a distinct lack of Carali.

The last worried her the most.

She had almost regained normal mobility in her front legs by the time the Touched stopped, by the stem of one of the large trees. There was a group of Touched about her, now, their eyes gleaming a dangerous green and their horns whipping in great circles above their heads. She soon realised that they were arguing – they had begun with using words, but one snapped a short command, gesturing at Minalea, and after that they went over to gestures – which she did not understand. They were pointing up the tree, now and again, and that was about all she understood – or, _thought_ she understood.

Finally, one leapt up the tree, anchoring the great claws on his feet in the bark, and made another set of gestures.

They seemed to agree. They waited while one rushed off. They waited until that one returned, a coil of thin chains in one hand.

Minalea decided that whatever they were up to, she probably wouldn't like it.

Two Touched took a firmer hold of her arms and a pair of others squatted down on either side of her with the obvious intent of tying her hooves together.

Not happening, Minalea told them. She reared and danced aside, kicking with her back legs so that they had to scatter out of her way. Not the hooves. Leave the hooves alone!

If there was any sort of freedom she liked second best to freedom in general, it was the freedom of being able to run away.

_Tie her hooves_?

Not a chance. Not the hooves!

But one of the Kelbrid who held her arms sent her a questioning look, and raised an arm… whether to strike her or to slash across her throat with his wrist blade, she didn't know, and she didn't care. Neither being dead or being knocked out appealed to her. Neither would help.

She froze, and stopped kicking. Okay, okay, tie the hooves, she said quickly.

The Kelbrid did. First, they wrapped several layers of thick, rough cloth around her pasterns, and then wound the chains around those. Properly, too, and so that she could barely stand, with all four hooves connected by those thin chains.

And then, to her great horror, they spun her around and began slowly but effectively dragging her up the tree, lifting her by the bonds between her hooves so that she hung upside-down.

Minalea had to summon all her courage and self-control to keep from panicking. First of all, heights were uncomfortable. Secondly, she was hanging upside-down, which was both uncomfortable and terrifying. Thirdly – which was purely terrifying – for all she knew, they might be dragging her up in order to _drop_ her..?

Perhaps it was some sort of Kelbrid ritual. Perhaps it was –

_Okay_, she thought, angry with herself. _That is definitely not going to keep me from panicking. Calm down._

Despite that little voice of reason, it was all she could do to keep from screaming. If she began screaming, she might never stop.

The distance between her and the ground quickly grew to extreme.

When it had gone past extreme, and was approaching _ridiculous_, the thick branches of the tree were so tightly intertwined that the Kelbrid were forced to use their hands more than their horns to shuffle her about – about, and still further up. If her hands had been free, she could have reached out at almost any time and not found the place to straighten her arm. If she had not been so busy being terrified, she might have been overwhelmed by claustrophobia.

Now, due to the mishmash of branches, she understood why they had simply not flown her up in a fighter.

She didn't struggle. If she did, she might fall. Despite the mass of branches, she had no chance to catch on to anything if she fell. She'd only break a few bones and continue falling, down, down, down…

The mere thought was enough to make her cooperate as well as she ever had cooperated on anything.

But if she ever had been relieved about anything in her life, it was when they finally dumped her, quite unceremoniously, in a hollow in the tree's massive stem.

The relief increased – if possible – when Carali was dumped beside her.

When the first burst of colour and joy erupted in Rachel's head – Tom's corner of her head – she lost control of the fighter and it almost crashed into a tree. Before the second explosion – always stronger – could come, she stopped the _Hawk_ and took her head between her hands.

What the… Tobias began, worry clear in his voice.

"Tom," gritted Rachel, trying to collect her thoughts. "He's prodding again."

He's on his way?

It took Rachel a moment to understand why Tobias asked a question with such an obvious answer. Finally, when her kii-raja's mental sendings began to grow less explosive, she understood; _why would Tom be coming? He was supposed to be guarding Jeanne._

"We need to pick him up, he's edgy," she said, hearing a note of determination in her own voice. "He knows I'm near but he can't smell me since I'm in a fighter." She did not wait for a comment – she simply wheeled the fighter down towards the forest floor, skimming along above it, towards the point where she knew Tom was.

What about the _a'al_ kii-raja? We don't have all the time in the world.

"We'll hurry," Rachel said dismissingly. Through the black pad she used to control the _Hawk_, she 'felt' the shape of her kii-raja, and lowered the fighter even more, letting it hover about three meters off the ground. She opened the hatch, and an rush of joy – as well as several thought-pictures of the hovering _Hawk_ – appeared in Tom's corner of her mind.

"Tom, jump," she called, one hand still on the controls but standing by the hatch; Tom's thought-pictures came closer and closer to the fighter – it was, as usual, confusing to see herself standing in Tom's vision, but she was used to orienting from that perspective. Almost like a videogame.

The kii-raja leapt; there was the screeching of sharp claws against the metal of the _Hawk_'s floor as he landed.

Then something appeared in the edge of the fighter's _felt_ area, having been hidden by the trees. It was a bug fighter; it was swooping quickly closer – it was firing.

Rachel moved the _Hawk_ up and out of the way… claws screeched against metal again and a low whine and a burst of surprise in the kii-raja's mental sendings told her that Tom had almost fallen out through the open hatch, hanging on only by his front claws.

She forgot the bug, as well as her own fighter, and threw herself down to grab hold of the beast before he fell.

Tobias said a sharp word in thought-speech, but Rachel didn't really care. The fighter was still moving, as she'd told it to, heading upwards and sideways, and only Tom's head and front paws were still inside it. The rest of him – most of him – was dangling outside the hatch.

The kii-raja was only remotely concerned about this, pressing his cold nose against her shoulder, pleased to be near her again.

"Dig your claws in, Tom, climb up here," she ordered, trying to focus enough to form a mental picture of what she wanted him to do – he understood better then. "Climb in. Come on."

She pulled at him, at his neck and backspikes, and the muscles in his front legs tightened visibly as he strained to move forwards. The fighter's floor was tilted… his claws gained no true hold, and he was too heavy for Rachel to pull him in.

All her mind could focus on was the horrid picture of Tom losing his grip and falling, falling helplessly… falling until he hit solid ground far below and she wouldn't let that happen, couldn't let that happen. Not to her kii-raja. She clung on to the beast and tried futilely to pull him up to safety.

Then the _Hawk_ detected danger; the tangled network of branches, right in its path. It gave warning, but as no command came from the helm it took its own initiative and twisted clear.

The movement sent Tom further out, and Rachel was dragged with him. She was glad she couldn't _see_ how far up the fighter actually was – but it was almost as bad to _know_ there was nothing except a long fall between her and the ground.

"Rachel, you can't _pull_ him in, you have to turn the fighter so he falls in," Tobias said suddenly. Only then did the blind Animorph realise that he had morphed, to human, and was hovering over her and Tom, unsure if the kii-raja would bite him if he tried to help.

The fighter detected more branches and spun clear again.

Tom's claws screeched against metal – and then suddenly stopped. Rachel felt wind blowing past her head and shoulders – she was leaning out the hatch, only waist-down still inside the _Hawk_. Tobias had grabbed her around the waist with one arm and was trying to hold her in.

"There's a bug fighter nearby," he reminded her urgently. "He's getting ready to fire again. Rachel, you have to steer the fighter. Let go of Tom, you have to –"

Rachel didn't pay him much attention. "Come on, Tom, get in here."

Tom gave another whine, not understanding. The fighter twisted, avoiding more branches – due to that sudden movement, a red dracon beam narrowly missed them.

Rachel felt the intense heat of it on her face as it passed, and suddenly her head was very clear. Clear enough to understand the mental picture of a near-by bug that Tobias was giving her, and… "Tom, if you don't get in here _right now_ I'm going to have to be very _angry_ with you," she gritted. "And you'll be heading away from me again. Get in here!"

Tom's shoulders jerked in alarm at the risk of his human's anger… and at the prospect of being separated from her he dug his claws in and made a desperate attempt to climb in through the hatch.

Kii-raja claws tore at the metal floor and both Rachel and Tobias were shoved out of the way as Tom victoriously stormed inside. With two humans, a kii-raja, and a whole lot of luggage, the fighter was very crowded.

Rachel went for the helm, as Tom made a point of moving between her and Tobias and snarling so that Tobias backed carefully away.

The bug fired again, but now Rachel was back in control of the _Hawk_, and the threat was quickly dealt with. And the hatch was closed, of course.

"We still need to warn the others about that _a'al_ kii-raja," Tobias prompted her.

"And we better hurry," Rachel agreed. "We've lost some valuable time."

Tobias decided not to comment that. "Shouldn't they be all right – as long as they can get inside the _Rachel_?"

Rachel grimaced, and pointed wordlessly at the floor by the hatch… which now was adorned by two sets of three deep cuts were Tom's claws had struggled to grip the metal.

Tobias found himself staring.

"And an _a'al_ kii-raja is bigger – stronger," Rachel reminded him.

Tobias turned to stare at Tom. He looked down at Tom's knife-like claws. And requested; "Could you tell Tom to stop snarling at me?"

Rachel sent him a wicked smile over her shoulder. "What – it bothers you?"

Tobias took another look at the menacing beast, another at the ominous parallel gashes on the floor near the hatch, and gave a nod. "Yep," he admitted. "It definitely bothers me."

Jake was very, very tired. He was perfectly awake – at least, he hoped so – but he was tired. Perhaps being tired had messed up his timing, but it felt like time to leave, and more than half his team were missing. Marco and he were by the _Rachel_, waiting for the others to show up.

He needed Jeanne, Santorelli, or Tobias, to open the _Rachel_'s door – they had listened to Melissa when she'd revealed the new access codes. Menderash would have been able to break his way in anyhow, of course, but Menderash was not there.

When Santorelli appeared, Jake was partly relieved. Seen Melissa and Jeanne? he asked.

No, Santorelli replied. Well… yes, actually. A while ago. Over there. He turned to toss his head in about the direction he had come from. But they seemed okay.

They should appear any minute, then, Marco concluded.

Probably, Santorelli agreed. 

We still need to wait for Rachel and Tobias to return… Jake sighed, pacing a few steps.

Should I open the _Rachel_'s door?

Incoming, Marco announced, before Jake could answer, pointing up at the sky, at the bird-of-prey-inspired shape of Rachel's Kelbrid fighter.

Tobias's thought-speech reached them, but the fighter made no attempts to land; I hope you're all set to go, cause we've got a problem on the way.

What kind of problem? Jake demanded.

A kii-raja kind of problem, in Yeerk hands. Rachel says it's a _great_ kii-raja, a mean one – stronger and bigger than a normal kii-raja.

_Bigger? repeated Marco. You mean, bigger as in bigger chance he'll leave us alone, right?_

Probably depends on how hungry he is.

That's _so not what I wanted to hear, complained Marco._

And considering how the Yeerks controlled the Taxxons, I'd say he is suitably hungry.

Tobias?

Yes?

Shut up.

There was a short pause. Then; Rachel just told me it doesn't matter if he's hungry. He'll attack morphables cause they don't… smell right.

Don't _smell right_? Jake said.

Anyone got any deodorant? Marco wondered uneasily.

According to Rachel – and tell me if I misunderstood, Rach – kii-rajas smell DNA. They don't like when they don't see what they smell. And morphables…

…have too many types of DNA, Marco finished.

Precisely.

I _knew_ there had to be some downside to this morphable-business.

Where are Jeanne and Melissa? Tobias asked.

Out there, somewhere, Jake told both him and Rachel. Worried about Tom?

There was another pause. Tom's up here, with us, Tobias said finally.

_What_?

Tom's with us. We figured Jeanne had sent him off when she rejoined you at the _Rachel_. Although, why she'd have done that when she knew we were in a fighter…

Rachel, who'd handle best against that kii-raja, rhino, tiger, or gorilla? Jake wondered sharply.

After a moment of silence, Tobias replied; She's betting on rhino. The thick hide should be useful, and the weight, but it'd be a defensive fight. And Santorelli would have to keep his head low to protect his throat.

Heard that, Santorelli? Jake said.

Yes, confirmed Santorelli nervously. But I don't know if…

Rachel, you're in the air, keep Santorelli alive, Santorelli you guard the ship, and –

Can't I just demorph, open the door, and wait inside the _Rachel_? Santorelli suggested.

And risk being caught half-morphed by that thing? Not a good idea, Marco said.

Jake continued: And Tobias, get down here and open the door for us, Santorelli can watch your back. Rachel, could you send Tom, too?

But no sooner had he made that request before three bugs appeared, and the _Hawk_ was busy.

No, stay up there, Tobias, one ground target is trouble enough to defend, Jake amended quickly. He was demorphing as he ran, towards the edge of the glade. Santorelli, go for the door as soon as you can, but don't take any silly chances. He went over to spoken speech. "Come on, Marco, we need to find Jeanne and Melissa." Before he disappeared in amongst the trees, grey fur sprouting on his back revealed that he was morphing wolf.

Rachel busied the _Hawk_ with trying to keep the bugs' attention on herself, not on those easy targets on the ground. She had one down quickly enough… and then the bug with the tractor beam put down the _a'al_ kii-raja just inside the clearing.

Rachel, Tobias? Santorelli called, catching the beast's scent, and probably seeing the large blob that represented it for his rhino vision.

Yes?

For future reference: I hate you both.

With the use of dracons, the two remaining bug fighters began herding the overgrown kii-raja towards the _Rachel_, and Santorelli.

"I was worried about that," Rachel gritted, concentrating on the second and third bugs even as she spoke.

What more? Tobias sighed resignedly.

"That kii-raja – he's learned that dracon beams hurt. He'll have learned to look out for them – and keep away. That's how they control him – that, and tractor beams. Which unfortunately means he'll be a difficult target, even for a fighter."

Hurry up, Jake repeated, for possibly the fifth time, his wolf nose along the ground as he ran.

Marco loped after, on all four, not keeping pace as well as Jake would have liked. I'm coming…

But not quickly enough. The wolf raised his head and sniffed the air, gave the gorilla a glance over his shoulder, and then rushed in amongst the surrounding trees again. Here! he called suddenly, and triumph descended to grimness in that one word.

You found them?

One of them.

Marco did not like that tone of thought-speech at all – he sped up, ignoring the exhaustion in his gorilla limbs. He caught sight of Jake again, prodding at an unmoving huddle of human on the ground.

If it was one of the two missing it had to be Jeanne, beyond question, judging from the colour of her hair. Marco continued forwards only reluctantly. Dead?

No, muttered Jake in response, shoving Jeanne over on her side. Knocked out, bruised badly, we've gotto wake her up, so she can morph.

You don't wake someone who's unconscious, Marco objected. You wait for them to wake up.

We don't have time for that. The wolf paused, head on the side. I wonder if… Jeanne? Jeanne!

What are you doing? She can't hear you – she's knocked out, remember?

A Yeerk in a knocked out person can hear thought-speech, so some part of her will have to hear.

That might be because you can aim thought-speech at a Yeerk.

There was a short silence. Then…

This is a meaningless discussion, Jake snapped. Do you have a better idea?

In fact, I do, Marco said. Without waiting to explain or hear Jake's opinion, he bent down and scooped up Jeanne, cradling her over one gorilla arm.

Careful, Jake cautioned. Broken ribs. Might be some internal bleeding…

I know, Marco muttered, adjusting his grip on the unconscious woman with a worried frown on his gorilla face.

Jake was peering at him, his head on the side. You know, this is so King Kong.

Yep. I was just about to go find a building to climb.

Do it later. We're heading back to the ship, and quickly.

You're the boss.

Don't remind me.

They started towards the others, Jake again in the lead. They had not gone far before Marco slowed to a stop, calling a low hold on, she's waking up.

Jake glanced over his shoulder, saw Jeanne stirring, and trotted up beside the gorilla as the waking human was gently laid on the ground. How do you feel?

Jeanne's face twisted into a weak grimace, groaning as she moved her shoulder in a way that obviously hurt her ribs. "Crushed," she rasped.

I can see that, muttered Jake, not without concern. Why did you send off Tom?

"I… didn't."

Then why did he go rushing off to find Rachel? Marco asked. He might not like the kii-raja very much – or at all – but he trusted that when Tom was told 'guard', Tom would guard.

"Santorelli told… him… _yaysh_."

Santorelli? echoed both Animorphs.

"Infested."

Jake spun around and was running back towards the _Rachel_ already before she finished the word. Marco, look after Jeanne, was all he said, and then he was gone.

Marco rolled his gorilla eyes before aiming them back down at Jeanne. Well then. You better morph.

Jeanne did. Black panther fur appeared slowly at first, hesitantly, but then with more certainty, a tail sprouted behind her, and her limbs began reforming to the strong legs of a large cat. Marco waited, keeping an eye on their surroundings, trying to avoid urging her to hurry, even though he wanted to.

What's with Jake? she asked finally, coming up on her newly formed paws. Her English had improved drastically since leaving Earth; surrounded by English-speakers, her French accent had begun to fall away. But when she used thought-speech one was never sure if she spoke French or English – since one would understand in any case, it was very hard to judge.

Oh, nothing, Marco drawled, motioning for them to follow Jake. We just left Santorelli looking after the ship, that's all.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Author's Note;

There's supposed to be a Kelbrid picture here http://w ww.livejour nal.com/use rs/stor mfairy/36726.ht ml , but it's not working at the moment. (you'll have to remove the blanks, otherwise the link won't work… silly document uploader won't show the link properly.)


	39. How to escape an a'al kiiraja

How to escape an _a'al_ kii-raja

Once Minalea had settled down to consider things, she realised that imprisonment was no different from what it usually was; very boring. There was nothing to do, and no-one to talk to. Correction; there was nothing to do except pace around her small cell – which, incidentally, was boring – or talk to herself – which, after a while, grew boring. She wanted Carali to wake up, and at one point she had considered kicking him. But catching sight of his face, she had pitied him and had decided not to.

After giving it enough thought – and there was little more to do than to give something thought – she concluded that aside from the boredom, the only thing that was truly bothering her was the fact that her hands and tail were shackled together, just behind her back. So she had been trapped by Touched, and thrown into some sort of hollow in one of the biggest trees she had ever seen, but for the moment the Touched were not bothering her, and neither was the tree. Thus, the chains were her first priority.

They at least kept her mind off thirst and hunger.

Carali, though alive, was so swollen over his face that he was barely recognizable, and since she had first taken note of the bruising she tried to avoid looking at it, wishing he would wake up so he could morph it away.

Then she could kick him in good conscience.

She had not seen any Kelbrid since they had dropped off Carali. But as soon as she began morphing, one appeared as if through magic, peering curiously into the cell. He saw what she was doing and leapt into the opening, starting forwards with his green pupils flashing angrily.

I'm not trying to escape, Minalea said quickly, reversing the morph and returning to fully Andalite. I just … don't like the chains.

_One moment now_, she warned herself sharply; _that was probably not the best thing to say_.

The Touched's horns quivered above his head. Then his ears leaned out from his head, and he strode up to Minalea, catching hold of her arm when she began to flinch away.

"_Kyra'ar'e__, mla'ari_," he told her.

_Be still, child, _translated the chip in Minalea's head, and she stood still. The Touched began working to remove her shackles, and suddenly, she heard Ka'an's voice replayed in her head: _"Kelbrid do not kill or torture children."_

Relief washed over her. And with her hands and tail now free, she could barely believe her good fortune.

Thank you, she thanked the Touched, and curiosity made her ask; How… how did you knew we were… _are_… not adults?

He flicked his tail nonchalantly. "Otherwise those _ka'ir-ya'aysh_ on Cava'ara would have killed you. Other Andalites are bigger. Heavier." His ears twitched away from his head as he continued; "And they are too proud to scream."

Minalea almost blushed, and then almost went pale with sudden fear, for she had just recognized this one for one who had been among those to capture her. Then, he had been followed by a terrifically terrifying silver beast.

Where is the… Minalea sent a thought-picture instead of daring a description that might insult him – or the beast.

"Kii-raja," he supplied. He walked over to the cell's entrance, and pointed down. Minalea peered in the same direction and caught sight of a previously empty ledge, which she had thought was too narrow to be of any use. Obviously there was a hidden hollow by that ledge, considering how the silver beast – glaring back up at her – seemed to stand mostly inside the tree.

So there had been guards, after all.

"She knows when you change shape," the Kelbrid warned. "She knows when you try to leave. _Do not try_."

He caught a branch with a horn and swung elegantly out of the cell, landing on another branch, heading back towards his kii-raja.

Wait! called Minalea. What will happen to us?

"We are to deliver you to the Yeerks, child," the Touched said, in what had to be described as a toneless voice. "By the orders of the Whole."

Minalea rocked back on her hocks and scrambled into the cell, which felt relatively safe. Now, she vividly heard the words of a forgotten teacher at the Academy; _Yeerks do kill and torture even children, if you are fools enough to be caught._

Fool enough to be caught? she whispered to herself, glancing at the shackles the Kelbrid had dropped to the floor. Well, it's not something I _planned_.

Again she wished intently that Carali would wake up, and morph, so she could kick him (in good conscience) for not warning her to leave that Jijfku ship sooner. Naturally, it was all his fault.

Thoughts whirled through Jake's head as he ran back towards the _Rachel_.

Santorelli, infested?

_Damn. Damn damn damn. Of all the things that could go wrong, it had to be an infestation…_

He trusted his wolf nose to lead him – following his own and Marco's trail back the way they had come. While he ran, he tried to come up with some sort of plan, but his mind kept circling back around the same few phrases. Thus, when he reached the _Rachel_'s clearing, his 'plan' still consisted of three words: "_damn damn damn_".

He saw the rhino – Santorelli, _infested_ – positioned by the _Rachel_'s hatch, nervously watching – more properly, smelling and hearing – the _a'al_ kii-raja, which was trying to close the distance, but each time its attempts were foiled by beams of angry blue from the _Hawk_.

With some relief did Jake note that Rachel's small fighter was the only one still flying. The bugs which had brought the _a'al_ kii-raja were now no more than so much smoking and burning rubble, in three neat piles on the ground. No Kelbrid fighters were within sight – which, then again, guaranteed nothing. Jake knew little about Kelbrid cloaking technology.

He kept among the trees, crouching down in the shelter of some bushes.

Rachel, Tobias, he called. There's a problem. We found Jeanne. She says Santorelli has been infested.

Then there's a problem, alright, Tobias muttered in reply not long after. For you forgot to figure out if Jeanne might be the infested one, didn't you?

Jake had a sudden wish to kick himself. Wolves were not adept kickers. Especially not at themselves. Instead, he scratched his ear with a back paw, until he realised how silly he looked, and stopped. Marco has an eye on her for now, but –

There's one way to figure it out, Tobias interrupted. We send down Tom. If there's a Yeerk, he'll know it.

Jake was about to nod, and reply in thought-speech, when Tobias suddenly added: Wait, no need. Rachel just asked Tom. Jeanne was right.

It took Jake a moment to put the pieces of the conversation together and figure out what Tobias meant. So Santorelli is infested?

Yes. According to Tom.

How much can we trust –

Jake, be glad you're not up here to see Rachel's expression – it's a killer. Don't say things like that. It could be bad for your health.

Thanks for the warning, said Jake, but quickly continued: Rachel, could you stun Santorelli with low power on that… blue… dracon or whatever –

_Kata__ rajch_, Tobias corrected – something he obviously repeated from Rachel's spoken speech.

Kataj, agreed Jake, and again it was probably for the best that he did not see his cousin's expression. Can you use it to knock him out?

And what are we supposed to do with an unconscious, infested rhino?

What are we supposed to do with a _conscious_, infested rhino?

There was a short pause. Then… Good point. Another pause. Lure the kii-raja off, and we'll take care of Santorelli and the ship. Come back in a little while.

Jake agreed, thinking it more of a plan than his "_damn damn damn_", and proceeded to catching the _a'al_ kii-raja's attention. He did this by throwing his wolf head back and howling, and leapt out from the bushes.

He saw the kii-raja, until then intent on the _Hawk_ and Santorelli, throw a golden glare his way. It turned back, snarling, to the rhino – but was hindered by a blue beam of kataj – properly, _kata__ rajch_ – from Rachel's fighter. Considering this, it began Jake's way, and when no kataj pursued it, it made up its mind.

Jake spun around and sprinted in amongst the trees, just as _Run!_ reached him from the _Hawk_. The kii-raja loped after, at an almost leisurely pace, but it still gained quickly on him. He was certain he could outlast the beast – nothing outlasted a wolf – but it was vividly clear that unless something slowed the kii-raja, it could out-speed him and he would suffer its teeth in mere moments. No matter that he was drawing on all the speed the wolf could summon.

And soon he caught a smell, and sight, which he had forgotten. A panther and a gorilla, heading towards him. The panther could neither outlast nor out-speed the kii-raja, and the gorilla did not have a chance to begin with.

He snatched the first idea that appeared. To the trees! he yelled. Overgrown kii-raja heading this way!

Overgrown, what do you mean – began Jeanne, but cut herself short with a: Oh. Oh! Big kii-raja. Jake, what exactly –

_Did I say it was up for debate_? demanded Jake sharply.

Jeanne sprung up into the nearest tree at once. Her claws gained no true hold, but sheer swiftness propellered her up to the lowest branches and from there she climbed easily.

Marco stayed on the ground.

Marco, up into the –

Shut up, Jake! Have you forgotten that _you can't climb_?! Marco snapped.

Jake silenced and sprinted toward the gorilla, realising his friend's plan. When Marco began up the tree, Jake was riding on his shoulder, and the kii-raja leaped and swiped almost playfully at their heels.

Jake began demorphing at once. The trees would be easy enough to climb for a human. Marco deposited him on a branch and looked down at the kii-raja. The beast was pacing back and forth by the foot of the stem, watching them. When it smelled the air, its upper lip curled in a snarl. It leaped, straight into the air, and its knife-like claws swiped only a hand's width below them. They quickly retreated to a higher branch.

That's a big kii-raja, Jeanne said. I didn't know they came that big.

This one's sort of an exception, Marco told her. A _great_ kii-raja, Rachel says. It can't be controlled, it's big, it's mean, and it doesn't like morphables.

Bad news for us.

Jake sat watching the beast, saying nothing.

What do you think? Marco asked him conversationally. Bird morphs?

"Not a completely wrong idea," Jake agreed, and focused on his peregrine falcon morph.

Marco began demorphing, but Jeanne kept her inscrutable panther face turned down towards the _a'al_ kii-raja. Her tail swished in mild irritation below her, but otherwise she did not move.

Just as Marco felt his human vocal cords reappear, and Jake began sprouting feathers and shrinking, Jeanne spoke.

There's only one problem with taking to the trees, she said.

What?

Kii-rajas_ climb_.

Captain Kandion aimed the shredder at a Kelbrid face and fired.

Remul, Karantir, with me, we hold them back, he ordered, his voice clear and calm in the midst of growing panic. The rest of you, retreat towards the bridge. Now!

He saw Remul and Karantir, the two most skilled at handling shredders, take places on either side on him and raising their weapons at once. The others had begun retreating. It seemed Prince Amunir was in charge: good. Amunir knew what to do.

Kandion scanned the narrow passage. He, Remul and Karantir were about fifty paces from where it joined a larger corridor that led to the bridge. The other end of the passage – also fifty paces away – was where it turned, and from there the Kelbrid were attempting to advance.

He knew the Kelbrid well enough by then to realise that after the first casualty, they grew cautious. They would not come around the turn until they considered it more or less safe. He, Remul and Karantir would be able to retreat safely to the larger corridor. Well past that, the trick lay in running – very quickly. Because the Kelbrid would storm out from behind that turn and be after them in half a moment's notice.

They were horribly fast, once they reached top speed. He and the others would be one fifth of the way to safety when the horned, green-eyed enemies would come out into the larger corridor. The Kelbrid could run that complete distance in the time it took the average Andalite to run the remaining four fifths. They would reach the door at approximately the same time.

Over the last week, Kandion had lost many good warriors because they simply had not been fast enough. He himself would be eternally thankful to the physical education teacher he had had at the Academy, so long ago. The teacher had been a bullying brute, but he had taught every student he had to be fleet of hoof.

Best to get started. Kandion felt the adrenaline seethe up inside him, and then welcomed that strange calm that settled over him whenever danger was near – the calm that allowed him to think straight in any circumstances, and had helped him reach the rank he currently held.

We back slowly, he instructed. When we reach the turn, we run. No looking back, no matter what happens. It shall be a close race.

Yes, Captain, responded two warriors' voices, both perfect examples of what the Academy proudly liked to refer to as the '_aristh_ calm'. The '_aristh_ apathy', if anyone asked Kandion, but no-one ever had.

Kandion took a deep breath, and motioned for them to start backing away. He kept last in the group; between his warriors and the Kelbrid. He heard as they reached the turn, spun on their back hooves and began running, their hooves beating against the floor.

The Kelbrid, too, had heard it. One set of green eyes looked past the turn, almost curious. Kandion shot him right between the eyes, and the Kelbrid fell to the floor without making a sound.

That would buy him a few precious moments. He turned and ran at once, powering his hooves beneath him and using his tail for balance as he rounded the turn.

At once he heard the Kelbrid following him, their claws clicking against the floor so much faster than the beats of his own hooves. They let out taunting shouts, and early calls of victory: by then, so long after first arriving on his precious _Daybreak_, they had probably figured out that he was the ship's Captain.

He heard the whip of horns and felt them snap through the air just behind him, making him speed up even more. He was just five leaps from the door to the bridge – which Remul and Karantir had already disappeared safely through – when one of those horns struck his flank. He stumbled to the side as his front leg went momentarily numb, and as he recovered his footing his stalks saw the Kelbrid all too close, more beside him than behind him, taunting him by letting their horns flick over his sides and arms almost gently – gently, except for the one that snapped the shredder right out of his hand.

He would not reach the bridge in time. If he did, they would follow through.

They could not be allowed to reach the bridge.

Close the door! he thundered.

In his next leap, he turned sharply so that his back end thudded against the closed door, his tail sweeping out for balance. Still, his hooves skidded on the floor and he fell down, landing with his tail trapped beneath him. Five Kelbrid surrounded him, one directly in front of him. He would not have time to get back up.

The green pupils gleamed victoriously in the centre of black eyes as Kandion met his adversary's gaze. He saw his death in that green.

His thoughts went to Sayah, his wife, realising – with a bitter smile – that now she _would_ be after Lerim's head. He sent out a thought-cry over the distance… but he realised it would not reach her, so he prayed and knew that she was aware of how much –

Hands grabbed his tail and arms and he felt himself yanked backwards. The door closed with a metallic bang, now in front of him, severing half a dozen Kelbrid horns in the process.

Close one, Captain, said Prince Amunir calmly as he and a warrior helped the Captain back up.

But Kandion shook off the help, stood up, and glared at those around him. _Who_?

Who what, Captain? asked Amunir.

Who opened the door? I ordered it closed!

Amunir straightened up to stand almost at attention, as if preparing for being scolded. I ordered it opened again, Captain.

Kandion felt his eyes narrowing as he looked at the Prince. Since when do you feel the need to thwart my orders, _Prince Amunir? He emphasised the title in a way he knew sounded like a warning that he might remove it. That had always been an effective way to put people back in their places._

We could not leave you out there for _them_, Captain, Amunir said. This ship would not last long without you.

So instead you risk the bridge?

It is the duty of any warrior to look after his Captain.

And the duty of any Captain to look after his ship! Kandion bellowed. The close call had made him unnecessarily harsh, he realised, and he paced a few steps forwards to calm down. A warrior stumbled quickly out of his way with an alarmed expression. Kandion stopped, flicked his tail, and spoke softly to every remaining crewmember he had, now so few that all of them could gather on the bridge without making it look crowded: We have a… _delicate_ situation here. We have no communications with anyone except the thought-speech we have amongst ourselves. We are blind as to what is occurring out in space, since they covered the windows to the bridge. The Kelbrid have advanced further into the ship than expected, and all too quickly. We still hold the bridge, and one main corridor. He glanced around. But that is all. And the bridge is, though easily defended, not inhabitable for this many Andalites for any longer periods of time. If we do not fancy letting half of us starve to save the other half, and that only for a short while, we will have to retake the Dome. And the Dome – as you all know – is in the other end of the ship.

Perhaps we should simply relocate there, Captain, TO Ranmili suggested. FO Thalus had been lost in the fighting; Kandion missed him. Nothing had ever unsettled Thalus, and therefore he would have been a great asset in an emergency such as this.

We still need to _reach_ the Dome, to begin with, Kandion said.

The Dome is not easily defended, Captain, Amunir commented. There may be only a few entrances, but not one of them can be properly locked, except if we plan to disconnect it from the ship – which would mean someone needs to stay on the bridge to arrange that, if the computer will even oblige us, broken as it is. And we would be trapped, helpless, inside the Dome.

I am all too aware of those problems, Kandion snarled, turning to pace some more. Hunger made itself reminded in his belly as one of his stalks passed the grass near the wall; now, it was grazed down to its roots. He glanced around at the remains of his crew, thoughts spinning madly in his head as he grasped desperately for some sort of plan; some sort of idea.

Just as soon, he had dismissed them all as either impossible or overly optimistic. He cursed, spun around and paced in another direction. Suddenly he stopped, again – as so many times during the last week – wondering whether his ship, his beautiful _Phantom_, with the scientist and the _aristh_s, had escaped safely. Again he came to the conclusion that it was most unlikely – and even more unlikely that they would be able to find some sort of help to bring back.

His ship – his beautiful _Phantom_, ruined. And the _Daybreak_ would soon follow.

Damn those Kelbrid. Damn them right into the nearest black hole.

Glancing down, Jake realised that Jeanne was correct. Kii-rajas _did_ climb. Not with the grace and speed of a great cat, or the easy, powerful litheness that characterized their movements on ground, but with undeniable efficiency. He supposed it would be no match for a natural-born climber, as a Hork-Bajir or a Kelbrid, or a chimpanzee. Even a panther could feel moderately safe. But it was fast enough to endanger a gorilla – and, even more so, a human.

Is it just me, or is this bad? Marco wailed.

Jeanne, on the other hand, decided to have a bit of fun. With Jake only half-morphed to falcon and Marco still not fully human, it was her turn. She dropped to the lower branches so quickly it seemed she fell, and leapt right at the kii-raja's face.

Its four paws were busy holding it to the tree, and its only defence was its teeth. Jeanne landed, front paws first and back paws following, right on its eyes, centimetres from its opening mouth, and sprang away again before the teeth could capture one of her paws. The kii-raja was preoccupied with staying on its precarious, vertical perch as the panther pounced, and thus there was no real energy in its attempt to bite. It kept climbing, heading for a branch.

The nimble panther, so much more at home in a tree, pounced at its side just as it began moving up onto the branch. It overbalanced and almost fell, and Jeanne was out of its reach before it could retaliate. It growled in frustration, scrambling up onto the branch with barely half of the customary arrogant elegance. Jeanne flicked her tail and crouched on another branch, watching it. She was not as daring now that it was standing on all fours instead of clinging with all fours.

Jeanne, get out of its reach and morph bird, Jake ordered. Quickly!

Barely had the order reached Jeanne before a flurry of golden fur and knife-like claws did the same. The _a'al kii-raja had closed the distance between them in a sudden leap, branch to branch. It landed easily, right at the panther, shoving Jeanne off her perch and into the open space below._

Panther instincts spun all four paws down beneath her, and the landing would have been simple enough if not for the kii-raja. It followed her down, leaping at the tree's massive stem, clinging for half a moment, and then dropping right down beside the panther.

Down to the forest floor went Jeanne, and following her came the teeth of the kii-raja, already aimed at her neck.

One snap of its jaws was all the beast needed.

The sharp teeth drew blood… but never closed about Jeanne's neck.

Tom had arrived, himself only a golden streak of movement, and the panther was spared as the _a'al spun to meet Rachel's pet._

"Jeanne! Over here!" called Rachel's voice, from where she stood in the hatch of the _Hawk_. The small fighter was hovering not far away.

Jeanne turned and ran towards it, retreating into the safety of the fighter. Two birds – a falcon and an osprey – swooped down from the trees to join her.

Tobias? asked Jake.

"Back at the _Rachel," Rachel replied. She scowled at nothing in particular, but it was clear that the scowl was meant for her cousin. "__'To the trees', Jake? What were you thinking?"_

I was thinking how nice it would be with a long nap, Jake confessed truthfully, glad his falcon face had only a limited array of emotions; fierce, and fiercer. So –

He stopped speaking when Rachel's face contorted and she drew in breath in a long hiss.

What? demanded Marco.

Rachel had gone pale, but fury flashed into her blind eyes at once. "That _creature_ is hurting my Tom," she spat.

Within a moment she had resumed control of the fighter's helm and was firing in the direction of the two kii-rajas. With Tom busy backing away, trying desperately now to keep a distance, and the _a'al_ a decent bit bigger, they were not difficult to tell apart despite their speed and their identical colouring.

"Tom!" Rachel shouted finally, after another frustrating near-miss. "Get in here!"

She let the _Hawk_ hang dangerously low in the air. As soon as her kii-raja was safely inside, she reversed direction.

Not quickly enough. In the time it took for Rachel to register Tom's arrival and issue her commands to her fighter, the _a'al_ kii-raja had sprung into the air and landed on the fighter's roof. Its claws screeched against the hull as it struggled to catch hold on the rapidly rising fighter. The screeching grew louder and suddenly stopped as those same claws _did_ catch hold. The tip of the beast's tail swished ominously past the open hatch.

_Canned food_, Marco commented. Great. We're so canned food.

"Not yet," growled Rachel, making Tom bare his teeth in agreement. She spun the _Hawk_ around, and skimmed past a tree, so closely that the tree's stem brushed off the _a'al_ kii-raja. It plummeted downwards, with no hopes of catching itself before it hit the forest floor, and as far as those inside the _Hawk could tell, it was already unconscious, possibly dead._

Being slammed into a tree at that velocity had not agreed with the monster.

Rachel stopped her fighter and turned around again to fire at it, and make sure it was dead, when Tobias's cry reached them: Bug fighters! Rachel, get back here, _quick_!

Is Santorelli still outside the _Rachel_? Jake asked at once.

"Probably," muttered Rachel, preoccupied with carefully lining up the last shot.

Then hurry back, that thing is dead!

"Not for certain – not until it's a pile of smoking charcoal," Rachel countered, carefully – slowly – adjusting the aim, power, and intensity of the shot.

The kii-raja's dead, you've got two birds of prey telling you that, and Tobias needs our help _now, Marco said quickly, knowing exactly how to convince Rachel to hurry. Tobias might be in trouble._

Rachel hesitated, bit her lip, and… and closed the hatch to the _Hawk_ with a simple command. The next command sent the small fighter speeding back towards the _Rachel._

For some reason, it was to Aralgo they came, when he was taking a stroll not far from the _Phantom. Two Kelbrid, neither of whom he recognized, which at first made him wary, remembering what Ka'an had said about what the Kelbrid thought of Andalites. The second one was, moreover, followed by a large and dangerous-looking golden creature, and although it completely ignored Aralgo and only blithely followed its master, it made the young _aristh_ nervous._

"You are leaving for Dina'amm," the first said, and it was more of a statement than a question.

Aralgo was not sure as to how he should reply. Yes… we are, he conceded finally.

The two Kelbrid exchanged a glance. "I am Pa'arik," said the one with the beast, which now was sitting just behind him, waiting for a command in the manner of a faithful servant. "This is A'akul." He gestured at his friend. Seeing Aralgo's stalks peering at the golden creature, he nodded down at it and added; "That is my kii-raja. He will not harm you unless you harm him."

The Andalite felt relieved.

"Or unless I tell him to harm you."

The relief quickly faded away, but there was no menace in Pa'arik's expression; only simple, blunt display of facts.

"We have information you Andalites might like to hear," A'akul said.

Aralgo composed his features, hiding the blank look. Information? he echoed.

"About the Touched," Pa'arik told him.

"Rachel the Animorph knows. We interrogated a prisoner, who told us."

"Which we would appreciate if you did not tell _cer_ Ka'an about."

"He does not know, and should not know."

"But Rachel knows."

"And you Andalites should know, too, if you head for any place with Touched."

"Such as Dina'amm."

"It might save your lives."

Aralgo felt like they were speaking very quickly, even ending each other's sentences, but he knew that in reality they were both speaking slowly and clearly, and pausing politely before each switch of speaker. It was only his own confusion – and that feeling of being cornered – which made him think they were speaking too quickly. Also, his translating chip had not fully mastered the quirks of the Kelbrid language yet.

What might save our lives? he wondered.

"Among the Touched there is a resistance called _Arnaha_," Pa'arik explained. "They are against the One, and might side with you in a fight. _Might_. We do not know much about them. But if there is trouble, you should try to contact them."

How?

A'arik flicked his tail. "If we knew, we would tell you."

So how does this information help me? asked Aralgo, somewhat sharply.

Two sets of sharp white-pupilled eyes stared reproachfully at him, as if he had just said something distasteful.

"Information," said A'arik, his voice now shrill with acid, "is the one friend of the outnumbered, or the overpowered. Let us assure you, Andalite, that on Dina'amm you will experience both."

_Both?_

"Step into the rain and you will get wet," commented Pa'arik nonchalantly. "Good luck to you," he added then.

Without another word, both of them turned and walked away without looking back,

Aralgo blinked once, twice, even thrice, before shaking his head and gathering his stray thoughts into some form of order. There was something he should not tell Ka'an about, the kii-raja would not hurt him, if he stepped into rain he was likely to get wet, and good luck to him. Those seemed to have been the main points of the conversation.

Aralgo hoped he had not missed anything, and went to find Estrid. She would surely want to hear about this.

Of course, she would probably insist that the main point was the one concerning _Arnaha._

Aralgo could forgive her for being so clear-headed. She was a scientist, after all.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 

Author's note:

_Ka'ir-ya'aysh_ – white-eyes, slang for non-Touched

*blinks*

An update!

*dies of shock*


	40. When old enemies return

When old enemies return

.

Tobias had been high in the air when he had first caught sight of the bug fighters. They were not cloaked, and were making no attempts to hide, so even from a distance they were easily visible. He spiralled down towards the _Rachel_, keeping an eye on the unconscious rhinoceros that was Santorelli, lying precisely in front of the door. He wondered how they would ever be able to move him into the ship – and if they themselves would get past him, into the ship.

We're on our way, came Marco's message finally, and in another few moments the _Hawk_ zoomed out from amongst the trees. It touched down not far from the _Rachel_, and its passengers came out through the hatch at once. Tobias noted that Rachel and her kii-raja remained inside. Only Jake, Marco, and Jeanne hurried out.

Jeanne ran directly to the door, clambered nimbly over the unconscious rhinoceros, and commanded the hatch to open. Once it did, she disappeared inside.

Bug fighters, coming closer! Rachel warned.

Everyone, inside the ship, Jake said at once. He and Marco followed Jeanne over the rhino and into the relative safety of the _Rachel_. Tobias, come on! he called.

Tobias wavered for a moment, a part of him wanting to refuse or ignore Jake's order. But the bug fighters were clearly visible to him now, speeding towards him in four groups of three in each, and the sight was unsettling. He spun in the air, angled his wings, and dove towards the _Rachel_'s open hatch.

His tail feathers skimmed past Santorelli's thick hide as he passed, and his wing joints were nearly torn out of their sockets as he spread his wings to cancel his momentum. (He judged a strained wing to be worth not breaking his beak against the main console, though.)

Jeanne was already at that console, working her fingers over the controls, frowning to herself and muttering "Yeerks" in the same sentences as what sounded like French curses.

You can get it working, can't you? Marco wondered, half demorphed from his osprey, hovering behind her and watching her work. She sent him a scowl which told him not to ask stupid questions and then returned to her work.

_Rachel_! roared Jake, also demorphing. Get the rhino inside!

Rachel used the nose of her fighter to nudge the rhinoceros in through the hatch. Tobias thought it lucky that the hatch was able to read of Santorelli's current DNA print and adapt to let him through.

When Santorelli was safely inside, the hatch was closed and a force field was set up around him to contain him.

The _Hawk_ was still outside.

What about Rachel? demanded Tobias sharply.

She'll dock the _Hawk_ where the shuttle craft used to be. As soon as we lose those bugs. Jake went over to spoken speech: "Jeanne! Are we ready to go?"

Almost, Jake, Jeanne told him.

Through the windows, Tobias saw the bug fighters approaching, now so close that the Hawk advanced to meet them. A few swept past the small, outnumbered Kelbrid fighter and set their dracons on the _Rachel_.

They fired.

"Shields up!" announced Jeanne happily. "Controls go manual in three seconds… damn these codes… two… one…"

Tobias felt the jolt as the ship left Dina'amm's surface.

Marco had gone to man the weapons station, and soon the bugs were overpowered. Bug fighters, not even a dozen, could overpower the _Rachel_ and the _Hawk_ working together.

Serves them right, Rachel said, as another bug burst into flames and fell to the ground in the shape of black debris.

"They're bringing backup," Jeanne warned, and Tobias sent a glance at her screens and saw that she was right: three cruiser-class ships, smaller than the _Rachel_ and similar to bug fighters, but clearly better armed, were on their way.

"Okay, time to go," Jake decided. He had stayed in mid-morph, perhaps to hold on to thought-speech a bit longer, and now went on with: Jeanne, get us off this planet. Rachel, you follow.

But, Jake –

No, 'but, Jake'. Listen to me. This is not Freelancers R Us. Just _follow_. Understood?

Yes, sighed Rachel glumly, but at that moment Tobias was thankful to Jake for having at least some control over his at times volatile cousin.

The _Hawk_ zoomed away from the windows and out of sight. Jeanne moved over to work on a docking screen, gesturing for Jake – now returning to fully human – to take over control of the ship. It did not take long before the _Rachel_ had left Dina'amm's atmosphere – with the three cruiser ships still in two, unfortunately, making Jake mutter angrily.

Mere moments after, Rachel stormed out of the main shaft and onto the bridge, following Tom, whose tail she was gripping.

"What about Melissa?" she demanded, her blind eyes aimless but Tom's golden glare fixated on Jake. "We can't abandon her. We promised to take her home to Earth!"

Jake – who had just returned the controls to Jeanne – looked uncomfortable. He touched Jeanne's shoulder, murmuring a "z-space, and quickly", before turning to face his cousin.

"Well?" growled Rachel.

"We can't hang around and wait for her now," Jake explained. "We'll have to go back for her."

"Why?"

"Because – well, you saw those ships! We'd only be killed, and then Melissa would be just as abandoned. We'll go back to fetch her. We just need to… see to Santorelli. We'll stop by Cava'ara."

Rachel's eyes narrowed. "We'll go back for her, then?"

"Of course." Jake did not look at her – he was busy checking screens to make certain the Yeerk pursuit was lost. They had just entered the whiteness of z-space. Seeing that nothing seemed to be following them any longer, he let out a sigh of relief.

"Fine," snapped Rachel. Then her mood softened. "Would someone care to show me around the ship, then?"

"I'd love to," Marco grinned, as he left the weapons station. "In fact, you're welcome to share quarters with me."

What – you're kicking me out? Tobias wondered.

Rachel, though, smiled. "Sure, Marco," she said sweetly. "But Tom's too big to fit on a bunk with me. Can he have your bed?"

She gestured the beast forwards, and Marco took a hurried step away.

"Ignore Marco," suggested Jeanne with a shrug. "I'm the one with a spare bed in my quarters. You can take that. I don't mind having Tom nearby, either."

"Personally," Jake said, and paused for a large yawn, "I'll bunk here on the bridge tonight. To keep an eye on Santorelli – and the computer."

"Then I'll do the same," Rachel offered, glancing at the still-unconscious rhino. "That way, we can sit in shifts, and you'll be able to get some sleep, Jake."

Jake did not look thrilled.

"And someone needs to keep an eye on the ship, too, in case of pursuit," Jeanne reminded them all. "And to make the shifts shorter, I'll join you."

"Ah, neat – a slumber party!" exclaimed Marco. "I'm in!"

Tobias wished he had been able to roll his eyes.

Jeanne, having finished programming the _Rachel_'s computer, turned about. "Have any of you see this?" she asked, and said: "Computer, four bunks to the bridge, please."

Out of the walls shot four obedient and readied bunks. One hit the back of Marco's knees, making him sit down heavily.

"What's this?" he wondered, eyeing it critically. "Computer, could you make this one a double?"

The computer ignored him.

"Get one for Santorelli, too," Jake said.

Jeanne complied, and a bunk appeared out of the wall in Santorelli's force field cage.

"How did you know about these?" Marco asked.

Menderash used them all the time, when he slept on the bridge, Tobias said. He soared down to the floor, and began morphing human. Rachel? Do you want me to show you around?

Rachel nodded, and Tobias took the blind girl's arm gently as he passed her – ignoring Tom's bared teeth. When he led Rachel into the ship, Tom followed, looking most displeased.

Marco's attention, though, turned to Santorelli. "He's coming to," he warned.

"Hello," Jeanne greeted the Yeerk as Santorelli's rhino eyes opened and he clambered to his feet.

Hello, the Yeerk replied grouchily.

"You know all of us," Jake said. "Who are you?"

Why would you care… Animorph? the Yeerk sneered.

"Curiosity," Jake explained.

I am a mere part of the Only One – began the disdainful Yeerk.

"Oh, no," sighed Marco dramatically. "_Another_ one."

No. _The_ One, corrected the Yeerk.

"Spare us the introductions," snapped Jeanne. "How about you demorphing? It's been almost two hours."

The rhino shuffled in his force field cage and the Yeerk in its head chose not to respond.

"Now see reason," Jeanne continued smoothly. "You want to be of use to the One, don't you? If you get your host stuck in morph, you'll be of less use. A morphable host is valuable, isn't it?"

The infested rhino remained silent.

"What would the One say if you ruined a valuable host?"

The best use I can be to The One Who Is All is to leave your friend here stuck in morph, for in three days I'll be dead, and until then I'll probably be stuck in this cage!

Jeanne and Jake exchanged a glance. Marco looked angry.

"What if the One has use of you before the three days are out?" he said sharply. "And if you're stuck in morph then?"

The Great One would understand, the Yeerk said in total conviction. He'd see that I'd have done my best to cripple you.

"He doesn't strike me as the understanding type," Marco commented dryly. "Listen, I've got an idea. You'll know when you're about to starve, won't you?"

The Controller nodded slowly.

"Good. Then simply morph back at that time. Until then, we'll be able to keep you and your host comfortable, with space, food, and water. And a bunk. There's a very nice bunk, just behind you. Won't fit a rhino, though. And until then, if the One needs you, you'll be of use. Also, you'll have a better view of what's going on. Rhino eyes are useless, don't you think?"

"And when you begin to starve, you can always morph back to something even less valuable than a rhino," Jake added, reinforcing that point.

Why should I trust you? the Yeerk sneered.

"Fine," said Marco. "Be uncomfortable. Be useless. Leave a large and powerful rhino as our help." He shrugged, and turned away. "It's always been Santorelli's morph of choice, as you probably know. He'll mind less getting stuck as rhino than anything else."

Jeanne and Jake followed Marco's lead and turned away, but not before seeing some trace of humanity creep back into Santorelli's shape: the Yeerk was demorphing.

.

For what Marco had defined as 'a slumber party', the night was silent and boring.

Jake, who was trying to keep awake through a badly-going game of Doom on the computer, was enduring a long period of nothing happening, until distracted from his game by the sound of footsteps behind him. He paused the game and turned to see who had awoken. He found Rachel wrapped in a sheet, coming towards him, scowling. Tom prowled half a step behind her – so close that it was amazing he did not trip over her heels.

"Get some sleep," Rachel said, and it was nothing less than an order. Tom took on a distrustful expression, as if challenging Jake to ignore his precious human's words.

Jake sighed. "Rachel, if –"

"No 'if's," Rachel interrupted. "Except this one: 'if' you don't get some sleep, you'll be of absolutely no use to anyone. I mean it, Jake. Go sleep. I'll look after the ship."

"You can work this computer?"

Rachel's expression turned murderous.

"Fine," sighed Jake, too tired to argue with her. "Fine." He made his way to his bunk, so far unvisited, and lay down flat on his back, his hands locked behind his head. He stared at the roof.

Sleep came easy.

So did the dreams.

.

_Faces. Faces flashed by, before him, perhaps before his eyes, perhaps only in his mind; he couldn't tell, didn't know. Didn't care. There was his brother, Tom; his parents; his teachers; Toby; Chapman the Controller; his neighbour; a classmate, whose name he had forgotten; Visser One, both of them; Elfangor, right before he died; a furious, despairing Melissa; Prince Caysath; and the face of an unknown Hork-Bajir, one of many his own tiger claws had felled. _

_Rachel. Suddenly his cousin was staring at him; staring in recognition, relief, but both gradually turned to horror. Horror that besmirched her perfect features and then gradually made her face start falling apart, decomposing while he watched, pieces of rotting skin and flesh falling off. Just as her face lost all humanity, he could hear her faint whisper in the back of his head… "What have you done, Jake?"_

_Then Rachel was gone, replaced by Tobias's fierce hawk gaze. The hawk's face was set in stone, cold, rejecting; he turned away, in such utter dismissal that Jake found himself gaping, about to call out… but right then Tobias, too, was gone and Marco had taken his place. Marco's eyes were carefully narrowed, just far enough to give him a look of shrewdness; his jaw was set determinately, as if Jake had made a tough call and he once again – as he always would – approved. He gave one, single nod; he bowed his head towards Jake, just far enough to hide his face, and when that face was raised again it was no longer Marco._

_Cassie. Once again, Cassie. Cassie's familiar features first smiled radiantly at him, and he tried to reach out for her; he knew danger was near, he wanted to warn her, but she was just out of reach. Just when he again was about to call out, the smile on her face faded and was lost in a fierce expression of contempt. Green shone in her eyes as her skin began turning blue and her mouth thinned to disappear in the face of an Andalite who Jake hoped was still alive._

_What more do I have to do, Yeerk-killer? sneered the voice that was no longer Ax's. Where do you break? Where do you yield?!_

.

This time, Jake did not wake. He frowned in his sleep, tossed over onto his side, threw an arm over his head so that it hid his face, and from then on his sleep was dreamless.

Marco, who had the watch at the time, could actually see how the tension which had haunted Jake for the last week or so now melted from him. His breathing eased, and as he slept on he slept easy.

Marco, relieved that his friend was sleeping soundly for the first time in so long, yawned and continued playing _Doom_. Someone had left a game running, paused, and that someone had not been a very good player. He had to work hard to gather the scraps of it.

When his shift was over, he walked over to Rachel's bunk and prodded Tobias to take over. The hawk's fierce eyes opened.

My turn?

"Yep. I'm going to sleep. See you in the morning."

Sleep well.

Marco did.

At first.

.

Suddenly, Jake awoke with a jerk and sat up, wide-eyed. In half a minute he was totally awake, adrenaline pumping, ready to morph, and rage seething in his blood. His fists were clenched in determination as he looked around, searching for something to attack, seeking the threat.

There was nothing.

But a tight knot of fear had built up in his stomach, making him almost feel sick. Those knots were not as rare as he wished they had been, but they were dependable; they had never appeared for nothing.

But… there was still nothing.

Except that, in the dark, hazy lighting that served as night-lights on the _Rachel_, gleams of white met him as he looked around. The gleams of the wide-awake eyes of his friends. And one set that shone in gold; Tobias.

"Okay," Marco's voice said with a suspicious drawl. "_That_ was weird."

You're awake? Tobias asked. He was the one on duty at the moment, but instead of staying by the consoles he was still perched on the edge of Rachel's bunk. And amazingly, Marco, you're correct. I'm awake. For some reason. I hear Jake moving. I hear you complaining, naturally. And Rachel has grabbed my wing so that it almost hurts.

"Sorry," Rachel murmured, and let go. Then she called for Tom, who rose to his feet and reached his head over the side of her bunk, puffing at her arm with his cold nose, wondering grumpily why she always had to wake him in the middle of the night. She ignored his indignant mood and scratched him behind the ears, feeling much better when he was there and could tell her what was around her. _He_, of course, could see in the dark.

Jake waited for his eyes to adjust to the dim lighting and glanced around to find Santorelli and Jeanne sleeping in their places. Santorelli had curled into the deepest corner of his bunk – Jeanne was sleeping comfortably sprawled, with an arm hanging over the edge.

"What time is it?" Marco wondered.

Time enough for a good few hours of more sleep, Tobias informed them. Judging from our usual luck, we have a long day ahead of us, and we need all the sleep we can get.

Jake nodded; a useless gesture since no-one could see it. The group began laying themselves back down to sleep, (except for Tobias who simply ruffled his wings, and remained the one on duty) but as anyone who has tried it knows; if you wake in the middle of the night for no reason whatsoever and your adrenaline's gone haywire, you do not easily fall asleep again.

.

Unknown to Jake and the other Animorphs, there was actually a reason for them to wake up so suddenly – if you believe in sixth senses.

Because it was very, _very_ far away.

On Earth, it was early morning. It was not a beautiful, sunny one. Rather, it was a cold and rainy and dark one, and the sun had not risen yet, as if reluctant to begin the day's work. The sky was grey with clouds, and it all fit the events of the morning perfectly. The picture was completed with a nice little thunderstorm that made it almost impossible to hear anything further away than at arm's length.

Cassie had first been woken, only minutes after falling asleep, by the ringing of her mobile – she had forgotten to shut it off during the evening, and had fallen asleep with it lying on her pillow, beside her ear. She grabbed it, clicked the button, and muttered a few choice words before saying her usual; "Cassie. Speak."

There was no reply, except the faint sound of breathing in the other end. Cassie remembered the last time no-one had replied, remembered what Erek had said and the small tracker he had found. She let out a laugh, and said; "No use. I've removed the tracking device."

There was a click as the call was quickly ended.

Cassie yawned as she lay back down to sleep. She probably should be worrying about who that had been, but she was too tired. She could worry later. Besides, soon, she would not have to worry. She'd go where they, whoever they were, couldn't reach her.

She was in her old house, in her old room. For the last time.

She was leaving. She was there to pack her things and visit her parents – that had left the previous afternoon to a veterinary meeting – one last time, and prepare for her departure. She was leaving Earth, in only a couple of hours, on Ashley's ship. She had called Ashley the evening before, in greatest secret, and everything was prepared. At least so prepared that it was too late to turn back.

Which was good. Already she was having doubts about this idea.

Her parents would know nothing until they came back from their meeting a week later and found a note on the kitchen table. That was for the best, too; they might convince her to stay. The people at the valley – including poor Ronnie – would also remain unaware until a few days later, when Toby told them. Toby was the only one who knew. And Erek.****

Parting from Ronnie had been hard. She had hugged him tight, and kissed him, and he had reacted by a surprised laugh and said; "Hey, it's not like we're never seeing each other again! You're only going home. And you'll be back tomorrow. Won't you?"

She had nodded, but wished she could have told him how wrong he was.

With so many worries, no wonder she had trouble falling back asleep, despite being so tired. She had just descended into an uneasy slumber, when she woke again. The reason was the ceaseless thunder. Or so she thought. At first, she put her hands over her ears and refused to acknowledge being awake. When that did not work she hid her head under her pillow. But that failed, too.

At last she gave up, scrambled out of bed and fumbled through the room's darkness to the door.

She did not notice the owl sitting on a branch outside her window, watching her.

She went downstairs to the kitchen for a glass of water, for some reason feeling shaky. She did not turn any lamps on, as her eyes were not fully awake and she had no plans on upsetting them with any sudden light.

Her hand trembled as she held the glass under the tap. A flash of lightening outside made her jump, almost dropping the glass. The flash revealed what was hidden in the shadows of the room, but her back was turned to all of them.

"Stop being so jumpy," she scolded herself firmly, filling the glass quickly and drinking the water, forcing her hands steady. "What are you afraid of? A little thunder?"

"No," a voice spat. Right next to her, sending shivers down her spine – and making her drop the glass, hearing it shatter when it hit the floor. "Yeerks."

A fist caught the side of her face at full force and she fell to the floor.

But Cassie would not have lasted even half as long as she did in the Yeerk War if she had been out of a fight because of a simple punch. She was caught unprepared, yes, and was more or less stunned, but in the half moment it took for that fist to reach her face it all came back to her: three years of hard-core fighting seeped back where it belonged and no-one, not even the worst critic, would be able to find any difference between Cassie then and wartime Cassie.

She dropped, rolled, kicked out with both legs to swipe the man's feet out from under him and began morphing wolf so fast that she even surprised herself.

A flash of lightening again revealed what the kitchen's shadows had kept hidden.

About a dozen men. One down on the floor, in front of her, already struggling to get up. Two coming up behind her. And four guards at each of the two doors, while the twelfth waited impatiently for a chance to join the fight.

"Sorry," the man mocked. "Just had to do that."

If Rachel had been there, she could have cleared out a few things about "what she was afraid of". But Rachel wasn't there. Rachel was dead. So the job fell to Cassie.

"I'm not afraid of Yeerks," Cassie spat, a slight distortion in her voice as wolf teeth were forming in her mouth.

"Possibly not. Because you don't know us. You and your friends. Thought you'd wiped us out by destroying the pool here and our Pool ship. Guess again, Animorph –" the word was said with a sneer "– because we Yeerks are survivors. We adapt. That wasn't our only pool network. We're still on this planet of yours, like it or not, and there's nothing you can do about it."

Hands grabbed Cassie's shoulders and arms. She twisted, sank half-human teeth into flesh and felt a strange satisfaction as the hands let go, and a scream tore at the air.

But then she felt the coldness of metal pressed against her neck and a jolt of electricity shot through her when a dracon set to the lowest power was fired. It didn't burn her, but broke her concentration, made the morph drop into reverse, and her features melted back to human, quicker than she herself had ever morphed.

"Too bad you won't be telling anyone about this," the Yeerk continued, watching her from a more or less safe distance as she tried to recover from the shock. He quickly got out of the way when his two friends dove after Cassie again.

She kicked wildly, beat with her fists and morphed again.

"Get her to the box!" the first Yeerk ordered. "Get her to the box before she finishes morphing!"

Cassie gasped for air – a Yeerk in snow leopard morph had pounced on her – and doubled the speed of her morphing. The snow leopard pounced again, easily knocking her off her half-morphed feet, and a paw – claws retracted, fortunately – slapped her so hard that things grew dizzy around the edges.

A still-human Controller had lifted a chair and now swung it at her head to knock her out. But with the snow leopard gone, Cassie was already back on her feet. She was aware that her face had morphed completely by then, and could feel her hands changing to paws. She must have looked like a werewolf, she thought grimly, with her still-human body and only partly morphed shoulders, arms, hands and head, but that didn't matter. She leapt at the first Controller, snarling, and prepared to dive at his throat –

The dracon hit her back, stunning her long enough for the Controller with the chair to slam it into her shoulder.

She fell. Tumbled. A hand caught her arm and pulled her up; another shot of electricity from the dracon sent a violent tremor through her, made her concentration fall away and her body returned to human.

Hands grabbed at her from everywhere.

"The box! The box!" a mad voice roared shrilly.

She fought her way free and turned to run, only to feel the chair fly into her back, sending her tumbling forwards, straight at the table. The table was unbalanced and tipped over, momentum carrying her along and finally crashing her into the wall.

She knew she had to morph. Strangely, it was easier to start morphing again than to focus her eyes. But when she did, she felt as if she had struck a goldmine.

She was looking straight at a pen.

More exactly, the pen she had used to write the note to her parents, and then left beside it on the table. And when the table had been knocked over…

She grabbed it, knowing that even if she failed to escape, she should leave the world some warning.

She put the pen to the floor and began scribbling with large, disorderly letters.

But before she was finished hands grabbed her arms and she was forced to return to fighting. She had halted the morph to be able to hold the pen, but now started again, more rushed than ever.

Unfortunately one of the Yeerks had a gorilla morph, and when the gorilla and snow leopard worked together with eight other Controllers they could restrain even a furiously fighting Animorph. At least long enough for the last Yeerk, in an enormous boa constrictor morph, to wrap around her and keep her from doing much more than trying to breathe.

She was only able to stay on her feet under the heavy snake's weight because the gorilla grabbed her by her shoulders – which the boa had left bare, perhaps for that reason.

"A dozen against one never were good odds," the Yeerk-infested man mused, now daring to come closer. He had turned on the lights some time during the battle, when Cassie had been too busy to notice, and now looked straight down at her face, so close that she could feel his breath. "And I thought an Animorph would have more spirit than you do." He laughed, a short, scornful sound, and his eyes twinkled. "Too bad. I was looking forwards to seeing a good fight."

"If you wanted a good fight you should have let me morph."

"Ah… no," he said, suddenly a note of respect in his voice. "That fight would have been _too_ good. I don't doubt for a moment, Animorph, that you could have beaten us all if we had let you morph."

Cassie knew she would have done nothing of the kind – well, perhaps if the three in morph really were the only morphables, because humans she could handle – but she kept that to herself.

The Controller waved a hand dismissingly in front of her face. "Put her in the box, my friends. Before she turns hostile again."

The gorilla easily lifted both her and the boa and carried them both out of the kitchen, into the living room. There on the floor was a cubical black box, of type the Yeerks always had used to hold morphables. The boa and gorilla worked together to force her down into it. She found that it was so small she had to sit with her knees pulled up against her chest and her neck painfully bent forwards. The walls were cold, felt like metal, but neither looked nor smelt the part. Some Yeerk material, probably.

The obvious point of the box was to keep her from morphing and escaping. The Yeerk who first had spoken to her – who seemed to be the leader – explained it all in great detail.

The box contained just enough oxygen to hold one human conscious for about five hours – that is, if she kept calm and regulated her breathing.

If she started living about or yelling or screaming in the box, the oxygen would run out quicker. Ending up with her unconscious, and if they then chose to let her live they could easily open the box and refill the oxygen without any risk of her escaping.

If she morphed small to spare the oxygen, they would just keep the box closed and wait until she demorphed, after two hours. Because they couldn't risk her escaping by opening the box at the wrong time.

They would know whether or not she was in morph due to a bio-analysis screen on the outside, which would also warn when oxygen was running low, and when she had lost consciousness.

He snickered to himself. Cassie heard muffled voices from outside the box, but was unsure as to what they were saying.

"What do you need me for _now_?" she asked finally.

"Isn't it obvious? You're our hostage."

"Really?" Cassie laughed bitterly, but was curious. "And what are you going to demand? Visser One freed?"

"Visser One was what destroyed our plan to take this planet," the Yeerk snapped back from outside, sounding angry. "For all we care, his Kandrona source can rot. _Slowly_. He will not get a chance to ruin things again."

"Don't tell me you're still trying to take Earth," Cassie said lowly, a bit alarmed but trying to hide it.

The Yeerk was silent for a while. So long, that Cassie thought he had not heard her. But then he spoke; slowly, weighing each word carefully before it passed over his lips, and himself believing every sentence of it. "We're a small group, we Yeerks still on this planet. But increasingly powerful – especially since we started capturing Hork-Bajir. Pretending at first to be poachers gave us an excellent cover for the kidnappings. One of my more brilliant ideas.

"Today was our greatest victory." He sighed. "But unfortunately it will also be our last. This planet is not worth the trouble, and we have decided to leave. Only a small force will be left on the surface, in case we ever wish to return. The only thing holding us back is the Earth Council. They keep a very tight control on airspace around this planet. Not in the atmosphere, but around it. We need to get past that."

"And..?" Cassie wondered, but already knew what would follow.

"You, Animorph, are here for a single reason; we need a good hostage to avoid being blasted on our way to freedom. And, when we reach our brother Yeerks out in space, we _should_ bring them a gift, shouldn't we?" Even through the box Cassie could feel him leering.

That made her shudder; out of both anger and fear.

"Jake would stop whatever he was doing and come rushing to my help if he ever finds out about this," Cassie growled. "Him, and the others. He'd hunt you down if you hid in the deepest pit in the universe. And when he finds you, you'll die a more painful death than you –"

"Yes." And to Cassie's horror, the Yeerk was laughing wickedly, not a trace of fear. "He would, wouldn't he? Too bad that the Blade ship and those Kelbrid would get away. Too bad they would reach the Andalite Home World and Earth. Too bad they decided to strike while the notorious Jake Yeerk-Killer is out hunting himself into a frenzy and the Andalite and human fleets are being butchered by Kelbrid."

Something – probably a well-aimed kick – hit the side of the box and it rocked to the side, almost falling. Cassie tensed, both from the kick and what the Yeerk had said. She heard him laughing to himself as he walked away from the box, and silently repeated every curse she had ever heard.

They had obviously thought this through carefully.

Then she closed her eyes and clenched her hands so tight that even her short nails managed to dig into her palms.

"Don't let Jake find out," she mumbled to herself. "Don't let Jake know until their mission is done and the Kelbrid War is over." She opened her eyes, unclenched her hands. There was a stirring in the deep of her mind, as if something had been woken. She felt her eyes glaze over. And when she spoke it was probably loud enough for the Yeerks outside to hear – then let them hear. Let them wonder. "Did you hear that, Jake?" she said in a voice that was her own – and yet not. "Don't you _dare_ figure this one out."

.

Jake stared up into the darkness. His friends had fallen asleep again; their calm breathing (and Marco's familiar snoring) should have calmed him, but did not. Then suddenly he shivered, as if something cold had grabbed his neck, and crept up to rest in the back of his head.

He closed his eyes and forced the bad feeling out of his mind. Tobias had been right, after all; tomorrow would be a long day.

He had no idea how long.

.

.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Author's Note:

I know, I know, this one took a lot of time in coming. (I'll make a list of the usual excuses and post it somewhere later.) It's here now, isn't it? Be happy. I haven't died or something. takes mental note to use that as an excuse some time for late posting of chapter

And the next one shouldn't take so long (I should really learn to stop saying such things… they never seem to hold true). Every time I think I have time, it turns out I have too many things which I need to have time for.

But the one after that is already finished, so that should go easy. proud

Anyway, review, what do you think of the latest plot twist? I've got big plans for this one… they involve Yeerks. And that's only to begin with.


	41. When Jake repeats a decision

When Jake repeats a decision

.

.

Where are we?

Minalea woke instantly from her doze at the sound of Carali's groggy, searching thought-speech. So he had finally decided to come to.

In a tree, she replied, somewhat snappishly.

Oh, Carali muttered. His eyes slowly blinked, peering. A tree. What are we doing in a tree?

Being held prisoner, Minalea informed him.

Oh, sighed Carali. Then he twitched, and his eyes flew wide open. Being _what_? Before, Ouch, my head. My _face_. He tried to lift a hand, perhaps to carefully touch his swollen brow, and cheeks, to examine the damage, but his hands were fettered behind his back, fastened to the sheath around his tail-blade. The muscles of his arms and tail flexed and strained for a moment, attempting to break free, before he sighed heavily in defeat and relaxed. His stalks opened and began carefully swivelling. He tried, with limited success, to look at his own face. Oh, he repeated, even more heavily than his sigh. Now I remember.

He spun his stalks up to look at Minalea. First, he appeared relieved to find her unharmed. Then… How come you're not wearing any shackles? he wondered.

I got rid of them, Minalea told him shortly. She saw Carali's face bulge oddly, the beginning of a morph, and quickly stopped him with a _No_, don't morph. Wait a moment.

Carali eyed her curiously, still with only his stalks, but she ignored him, instead calling down and out of their hole in the tree: Kelbrid! Come up here! …only after which she realised that the Kelbrid might have changed their guard.

To her relief, the same Kelbrid who had warned her not to morph before now climbed up.

She pointed to Carali. Can he morph? she asked directly. To take away the bruising?

"It… relieves wounds?" questioned the Kelbrid, his voice rising and falling, almost twirling, like a fickle wind. Due to the nature of thought-speech, he did not need to ask for the meaning of the unfamiliar word 'morph'.

Yes, it does, affirmed Minalea, ignoring how Carali stared at her, clearly unsure of what to think of her dialogue with their captor.

The Kelbrid considered it, aiming his green-pupilled gaze first at Minalea, and then at Carali.

Carali was still lying on his side on the floor, even more cumbersome than a lying Andalite usually was, due to his tied hands and tail. He had raised his head to stare at Minalea and the Kelbrid, his eyes peering out from his bruised face, but had otherwise not moved.

"Very well," decided the Kelbrid finally. "On two conditions, I'll allow him to transform."

Which? Minalea wondered.

Don't trust it, Carali warned her privately. Keep out of its reach. It'll hurt you.

"Firstly, that he returns to this form at once."

He agrees to that, Minalea said, without asking the other _aristh_.

"And secondly… come closer."

Minalea blandly did so – to her surprise, a horn curled around her stalks, blinding them, and pulling her painfully even closer. The Kelbrid lay his arm over her shoulders with the sharp wrist blade to her throat. "Now he may morph."

Carali was scrambling, desperately trying to stand up, growling Your _tail_, Minalea! Use your tail!

Minalea, quivering, did not as much as twitch her blade. Just morph, Carali, she whispered unhappily.

Carali, now on his hooves and with his hands and tail again straining in their bonds, carefully analyzed the scene. He paid particular attention to the Kelbrid's free spiked tail, one free horn, one free arm… and his own fettered tail. Then he began morphing. He took on the shape of a _djabala_, before reverting quickly to Andalite.

Release her, he said softly – if an angry voice could ever be soft. _Please_.

Minalea wondered for a moment what that last word would have cost his pride.

"Of course," the Kelbrid agreed, at once releasing Minalea. Then he advanced on Carali, daintily picking up the fallen shackles off the floor with the use of his tail. "Stand still."

Carali bounded away. No! I won't be fettered –

Minalea only watched in confused horror as the same Kelbrid who had shown her such kindness merely an hour before, whipped his horns forwards and in a moment had pulled Carali's hooves out from under him. Before Carali could reclaim his footing, the Kelbrid leapt on top of him, landing with both his mighty claws ready to dig deep into the _aristh_'s tail.

"Twitch, and I'll be forced to sever it," the Kelbrid informed his captive calmly. "Then, perhaps, you'll be more cooperative."

Why don't you just kill me and have it done with? spat Carali.

The Kelbrid was securing the fetters to the Andalite's wrists and tail again. He finished that, and helped Carali back up, practically lifting the _aristh_ onto his hooves. (He was clearly stronger than he looked.) Then, with the sparkle of the green pupil in his black eyes now growing annoyed, he replied: "Because I am a Kelbrid. And Kelbrid do not kill children."

Liar! I've seen them. The Dome ships, captured by you. _The dead_. In piles. You've stacked them in piles, like _rubbish_. _Including_ dead _aristh_s.

"They were killed by Kelbrid who cannot tell an adult Andalite from a child. I _can_. Their error is unforgivable, of course, and should be duly avenged. Point to the culprits, young one, and more than one Kelbrid will rally for justice. On my horns, though, I swear to you, _I_ am not guilty of such crimes."

Carali blinked, the air for the time taken out of his rage. It glowed on in his eyes, though, and he seethed silently until the Kelbrid left.

The Kelbrid did so almost at once. "The fetters are to help discourage him from escaping," he explained to Minalea, kindness returned to his voice. "You, child, I trust." He lowered his horns in some sort of greeting, and climbed back down to his waiting kii-raja.

_Me_, he trusts? giggled Minalea, turning to Carali, grinning brightly.

It's probably just because you're a female, spat the other _aristh_, refusing to look at her.

Minalea regarded him curiously, wondering at his aggressive mood – and wondering why he turned it on _her_. Slowly, it dawned on her that Carali was afraid. Perhaps, more afraid than she was herself. Watching him, she could see how he stared intently at the hole of their cell, as if considering a hasty escape, while his stalks circled, twitchingly, always avoiding her.

Suddenly feeling strangely mothering, she walked up to beside where he stood and leaned against him, resting her arm on the small of his back. She was thankful to find that he did not pull away. They won't hurt us, Carali, she murmured.

I'm not afraid of being hurt, he snapped.

Then what are you afraid of?

The look he gave her in reply was a mingle of annoyance and vexation and worry and tenderness, and Minalea was not sure whether she should be angry or blush. His eyes gleamed like emeralds, and his hands clenched and were forced to relax in their shackles. He exhaled and turned from her, his expression suddenly stubborn and denying.

But you _are_ afraid, Minalea tried.

Yes, admitted Carali in a very tiny voice.

They won't hurt us.

Perhaps not. Perhaps they will simply keep us here in this hollow forever. Perhaps they will even bring us food and drink. Perhaps, you're right: perhaps they mean us no harm.

They mean to take us to Dina'amm. _He_ said so. Minalea put her chin on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

To the Yeerks?

Yes, confirmed Minalea in a whisper. And then –

Hush, murmured Carali, comforting, turning his face towards her again and touching his stalks to hers. So you spoke to that Kelbrid before?

Yes. He was friendly enough.

He could have been unfriendly. You'd never have known… until it was too late. You could have been… he silenced, before finishing: You could have been hurt.

You don't trust my judgement.

Not for a moment.

Minalea blinked in surprise at that direct honesty, wondering if she should feel insulted, but settled for only scowling.

Carali's brilliantly green eyes had grown sombre. I… I'm growing more and more to like you, Minalea. You're smart, you're pretty… and I _know_ that you'll _never_ allow me a moment's boredom… but I do not trust you when you're out of tail's range.

How about _in_ tail's range? wondered the other _aristh_ softly, raising a hand up to draw a finger curiously over his scalp, just passing his stalks.

Carali seized her wrist and calmly removed it, only to open her hand and place it on his face. When you are in tail's range, it's myself I don't trust. You're… somewhat distracting. But at least here it is easier to keep an eye on you. Easier to keep you under close guard.

Minalea felt her eyes twinkle. Why would that be necessary?

Because you have an innate ability to get into trouble.

And you, Minalea grinned, seem to have an innate ability to follow me into it.

It's a curse, agreed Carali.

A _curse_?

Albeit one I can learn to live with, Carali corrected, smiling, seeking her gaze and holding it. Then his thought-speech conspiratorially soft. Now then… what's you plan for escaping?

Not yet, Minalea told him, thoughtful. We wait until they've brought us to Dina'amm. Then, at least, we'll have some idea of where we are. And the Animorphs might still be there… if we're lucky. Right now, we're completely lost. If we escape now… not that I think we can –

Why not?

The Kelbrid. His kii-raja. They're a bit too observant for my liking.

So until Dina'amm, we cooperate?

Carali!

What?

Cooperate? _ME_? Don't be insulting!

Sorry.

Minalea was grinning mischievously – the same grin which, on the _Phantom_, had told anyone nearby to mind their step. We're not going to _successfully escape_ until Dina'amm. Cooperating is an entirely different matter.

Very well, Carali muttered, adjusting his hands and tail in their fetters, trying to make them more comfortable. Are you going to help me with these?

Perhaps I will, Minalea replied smugly, and perhaps I won't.

Carali sighed heavily.

.

Jeanne yawned. She was playing some sort of shoot-them-up game on the _Rachel_'s computer – against Marco, who was winning and loving it. Jeanne hardly cared. She knew from experience that beating Marco required effort, and led to Marco's most annoying mood, and was hardly worth the trouble.

Rachel was repairing a tunic, with Tom's head on her shoulder to let her easily oversee her work. The kii-raja was not in the mood to let anyone approach – even Jeanne had been met with a row of glistening teeth when she had walked past too close.

Jake was still asleep. Santorelli and his Yeerk were glowering silently in their cage. At least, they seemed silent: growing tired of the Controller's comments, they had made the force field sound proof. Tobias sat staring out into space. It had been Jeanne and Marco who had programmed the computer to search for broadcasts on the channel specified before: 6-_dalaf_-923-46-_talan_. It was Tobias who sat and waited for the Andalites to call.

A couple of hours later, the only one who had not moved was Santorelli. He was still glowering. Marco was watching _Airplane!,_ but not laughing. Jeanne sat beside him, sniggering now and again. Rachel, Tom, and Tobias had disappeared back into the ship to deal with some complaint Rachel had had about her fighter. Jake monitored the screens, waiting for Estrid to hail.

When finally someone did hail the _Rachel_, though, it was not Estrid.

It was a Yeerk craft.

After a moment of thought, Jake commanded: "On screen."

The holographic image of Melissa Chapman appeared over the computer consoles. She looked angry: her eyes were flashing, her face drawn into a snarl, and her posture was menacing.

"_Hello_, Jake," she gritted, as Jeanne and Marco left their screen to join Jake in front of the hologram.

"Get Rachel," Jake whispered over his shoulder.

Marco gave a curt nod and wandered away, purposefully calm and dignified.

"Pleased to see me?" Melissa continued, her voice as sharp as an Andalite's tail-blade. "Surprised? _Thought you'd be rid of me?_"

"Melissa, look, we're sorry we had to leave without you –" 

"You're _sorry_, are you?" hissed Melissa. "I suppose that makes it all okay, to you. But no. All I wanted was to _go home_. Was that so much to ask for? Now I'm still trapped here, and you're just –" She stopped talking and her eyes narrowed, looking past Jake. "Hello, Rachel."

"Hi, Mel," Rachel said. Tom was – as always – beside her, and Tobias rode (to the kii-raja's disgruntlement) on her shoulder.

"So what's your excuse?"

"Excuse? For leaving you behind?" Rachel shook her head, quickly going on with: "No excuse, Mel. We'll come back for you. At least, if Jake knows his own good, we will."

Jake grimaced as Tom glared furiously at him to support his human's words.

"And I'm supposed to believe that?" Melissa raged. "You'd come back, _why_? You don't need me. Especially not _you_, Rachel: someone with a kii-raja needs no-one else. But you promised. And you –"

"Melissa –" began Jake.

"Shut up, Jake," interrupted Melissa. "I know when I've been duped. Betrayed. See, I've been betrayed before. My mother betrayed me, my father betrayed me. _You_ betrayed me – twice. Now, and before: you must have known my parents were Controllers. Did you ever do anything to help me? No. Did Rachel ever do anything to help me? _No_. My best friend, and she did _nothing_. You'd think I might have learned. But here I am, having trusted you again, having thought you'd get me back home. And at the first opportunity, what do you do? _Abandon me_. Well, guess what? I'm sick of being betrayed, abandoned, used – by my parents, by Yeerks, or by _you_. It's going to stop. I'm going to take care of myself, now. And I'm going to make you _pay_. As soon as the One gets back, guess what I'm going to do? I'm going to tell him about Santorelli."

"What about Santorelli?" wondered Rachel, suddenly cautious, before anyone spoke. She looked annoyed, and had a firm grip on Tom's ear: the kii-raja had bared his teeth.

"I _know_ he's been infested," Melissa said, smiling. "That leopard voluntary couldn't keep his mouth shut when I caught him. He knew I'd kill him. He was about to tell me his mother's favourite colour when I finally did."

Rachel shrugged. "He lied. Santorelli's fine."

"Then show him to me, and prove me wrong."

"He's asleep – he's been up all night, we don't want to wake him. Look, Mel, we'll be back for you in only a few days. We're not going home yet, anyway. So –"

"So I'm supposed to just _trust_ you?" sneered Melissa.

"It wouldn't hurt," Rachel snapped. "I'm your best friend, Mel, and I haven't betrayed you. I deserve a bit of trust."

"Trusting days are over – I'm taking care of things myself," declared Melissa haughtily, her eyes aglow with triumph – or some blend, of triumph and madness. "I'll tell the One about Santorelli – and that he's got a portal _right at you_. If that information doesn't get me my promotion, nothing will. And if I'm promoted, I'll be able to check out my own fighter and _go home_."

"Mel –"

But Melissa shook her head. "Goodbye, Rachel."

The communication was cut. Rachel spat a word which made Marco chide something about "language".

"Less than perfect," muttered Jeanne. "We just lost an ally."

"Much of an ally she was," Marco said. "I told you she seemed a bit… desperate. A bit odd in the head."

"She's not odd in the head," Rachel growled, with Tom spinning menacingly at Marco. "She's –"

"She's obsessed with going home. _Too_ obsessed. I mean, everyone needs a hobby, but that girl, she's taken it too far."

Rachel considered it, but found no solid reason to disagree. Out of pure principle, she snarled: "Just _shut up_, Marco."

What did she mean when she spoke of a portal? asked Tobias.

"Portal?" repeated Rachel.

She said the One now has a portal right at us.

Rachel nodded grimly. "That's right."

"That's right?" Jake repeated.

"'That's right', as in she _did_ say so, or 'that's right', as in that creature _does_ have a portal, or 'that's right' in general?" Marco wanted to know. "'That's right' can mean so many things –"

"Quiet, Marco," snapped Jeanne.

"There's –"

"_Quiet_."

"But –"

At a gesture from Rachel, Tom let out a snarl which made Marco jump and instantly silence.

"'That's right' as in the One _does_ have a portal," Rachel explained into the ensuing silence. "Guess why I tried to fool Melissa that Santorelli was okay? The One can transport himself through the minds of his Touched. That Yeerk in Santorelli's head is a Touched. The One can appear here any minute… as soon as he finds out what's happened…"

"He'll be behind a force field," said Jake.

"That won't bother him for long," Marco muttered.

"What would happen to Santorelli?" asked Jake.

"Destroyed," Rachel ventured, shrugging. "At least, I think so. I don't know. But if the One appears _here_… or on Cava'ara."

"We'd have trouble," Jake concluded grimly.

"We can't bring Santorelli to Cava'ara," Rachel warned. "At least not while we're in risk of having the One appear."

We have to hope he doesn't figure it out.

"He won't, not on his own," Rachel said. "He's got too many Touched to care about all of them. This specific Yeerk has no reason to catch his attention – until Melissa opens her big mouth."

"We can't let that happen," Marco said. "We need to stop her."

Rachel nodded, almost sadly. Tom comfortingly pressed his cold nose into her hand.

"Then we need to go back," Jeanne muttered. "And deal with Melissa, _before_ she betrays us… she's probably in the Blade Ship."

Jake nodded. "We can't all go. We need to… get to Cava'ara as soon as possible, to help Santorelli. No, Rachel, listen – the Yeerk dies when we get there, so Cava'ara won't be in danger. Depending on how fast we can get to Melissa."

Rachel considered it, and nodded, relieved.

Jake went on: "And we need to get in touch with Estrid and those _arisths_… for that, we need the _Rachel_, for we can't contact the _Phantom_ from the _Hawk_. Besides, the _Rachel_ can't sneak back to Dina'amm, much less near the Blade ship, they're probably keeping an eye open for it, and we'd be shot down as soon as we're in range. But… the _Hawk_ could." He shook his head sadly to himself. "And to fly the _Hawk_…"

Tobias's head snapped up, watching him, something in his eyes making him look more fierce and more dangerous than usual. Something mad. Jake did not notice, and instead he sighed heavily, looking very troubled, and took both Rachel's hands in his own. "Rachel," he began, giving her hands a light squeeze. "I'm really, really sorry to ask this of you –"

He was interrupted by a sudden ruffleof feathers and the moment after needle-sharp talons swooped down at his face, a hawk's fierce cry tearing at all ears, but even that was drowned out by Tobias's shrill thought-speech voice; NO! You can't!

"Tobias! Calm down!" Rachel cried, but Tobias was beyond calming. He ripped furiously at Jake's face with beak and talons, seemingly unaware of Jake's attempts to defend himself, unaware of the arms that flayed at him, all while he screeched in thought-speech I won't let you! I won't let you!.

Tom had snapped to instant attention when Tobias had charged but when he saw that the attack was no threat to Rachel or himself he lost interest. He sat back down to watch the fight, in his eyes a mere fight for dominance, and only kept an eye open to see who would win, and whether or not that person would be any threat to his precious human. But Tobias was finally dragged from Jake by Marco and Jeanne, who each grabbed a wing and tore away the maddened hawk. Santorelli laughed dryly and soundlessly from his place behind them all.

Tobias let out an indignant screech, struggling, twisting wildly, trying to get away but simply not being strong or big enough. Even when his beak cut sharply into the hands and arms that held him they refused to let go. He was too angry to remember the possibility of morphing.

"Tobias!" Rachel repeated. "Calm down! NOW!"

The hawk stopped twisting and turned his head to look at her with his fierce gaze. Tom was still beside her, and with his help she managed to turn to meet Tobias's gaze.

Tobias calmed down in a display of will, but he was still shaking when he spoke. I won't let him send you back there. Not to the Blade Ship. Not alone.

"Hey, no-one mentioned going alone…" murmured Marco, but no-one was paying him any attention.

Rachel looked stubborn. "That's my choice."

I won't –

"It's MY choice, Tobias!" Rachel snapped. She saw, through Tom's eyes, how the hawk flinched, looking hurt, and added in a softer voice; "You don't have anything to say about it, Tobias. It's my old friend. I'm the one who trusted her – who was wrong to trust her. I'm the only one here able to fly the _Hawk_. And I'm going."

I won't let him tell you to go. I… I won't let you go.

Rachel's eyes flashed with sudden anger. Jeanne grimaced mentally, realising that Tobias had struck the wrong cord; Rachel's pride.

"You don't 'let' me anything, Tobias! I decide for myself. If you don't like it, you can try to stop me."

He at once knew the impossibility in that. You can't, it's madness, you'll be killed… But seeing how Rachel's expression grew more and more determined, more and more closed, he switched the subject and said; At least don't go alone…

Rachel's eyes flashed again. "I'm taking Tom."

_Tom_? Only that – that_ creature_?

Insulting her kii-raja like that was probably not the way to go about it, either: Rachel visibly turned even more stubborn. "I'm going, Tobias. I'm going alone – except for Tom."

Please, Rachel…

But Rachel's face had turned to stone. "Marco? Jeanne? Could you put him back in his quarters? And lock the door."

Marco and Jeanne glanced at Jake, who gave a short, resigned nod.

You were killed once, Rach! Tobias cried, beginning to struggle again as Marco and Jeanne turned to do as Rachel asked. Don't go again! Don't! I won't let you! I won't let you! I… his voice was broken by a line of helpless thought-sobs.

Rachel turned away from him and back to Jake. "I'm going," she announced, her manner cold. "Do you want Melissa dead?"

"Just…" Jake sighed. "just do what you have to, Rachel. Nothing more or less than that. No more blood than necessary."

Rachel nodded and stroked Tom's head thoughtfully, her thoughts hidden in her mind without showing any trace on her face. But then, with Tom sending a glance in the way Tobias had disappeared, she did bite her lip.

"Rachel, if you don't want to…" Jake said finally, softer than Tobias had. "If you think you can't…"

"I'll be fine, Jake," Rachel assured him, as Marco and Jeanne rejoined the group. Tobias had stopped screaming in thought-speech, now locked in his quarters deeper into the ship, but somehow the silence was worse than his wild protests. Rachel looked a bit weary. "I was just thinking… well, for Tobias, of course, but… poor Tom. I always seem to drag him into trouble…"

Jake regarded his cousin, wondering at how quickly she had turned the topic away from Tobias. He knew how much they actually cared for each other – he was surprised that Rachel had not agreed to let Tobias come along. But he knew she had a streak of pride in her that would never budge – around these Kelbrid, it had even grown worse.

"I can go in your place," Jeanne offered. "I think I can fly the _Hawk_, if I have to."

"You can't. I'm the only one who finds my way around space here in my fighter, since the _Hawk_'s computer can't deal with navigation. That's done on Kelbrid – _human_ – memory." Rachel shook her head determinately. "We've already settled this. This is my fault, and I'm going. And if I'm going, Tom's going, because being left behind would be worse for him than me dragging him to his death." Then she disappeared back into the _Rachel_ to prepare for her departure.

The leader of the Animorphs looked sadly after her. He had recognized the pain on his cousin's face; despite the efforts she made to hide it, she was not happy about arguing with Tobias about this. And she was not happy about having to hurt him, having to leave him again.

"Rachel won't budge," Jake sighed, making a wry face. "And making Tobias come to his senses won't be easy. Jeanne? Could you go talk to him? Try to calm him down a bit. Because Rachel won't. I think she wants to spare them both any painful goodbyes."

Jeanne nodded, and set off down the corridor.

Marco was grinning, in lack of something else to do. "Well, Fearless Leader, it seems you've done it again. For some reason, when you're around, Rachel gets all the fun, reckless, suicidal missions. Not that I'm complaining." The grin disappeared. He frowned down at a cut on his hand, and then looked up at Jake. "Tobias clawed you up pretty badly. You might want to morph."

Jake lifted a hand to his face, and when he brought it down there was blood running along his fingers. He had no feeling in his face, so he was a bit surprised to see it – although just a look at Tobias's talons and the ferocity of his attack should have convinced him otherwise. He grimaced, felt the sharp pain that sent through his injured face, and began morphing.

.

Rachel spent an hour in the _Rachel_'s docking area, muttering and growling about her fighter, preparing it for launch. No-one dared disturb her. When Marco came to ask if she wanted something to eat, he was chased away by a snarling Tom and ran to hide behind Jeanne on the bridge. The kii-raja thereafter had a fit as soon as anyone tried to enter the main shaft, leaving the bridge. Then, people left her alone.

Everyone aside from Tobias, that was. His voice was constantly in the back of her head, pleading, cajoling, demanding. She had no way of telling him to shut up without speaking to him directly. Finally, having had enough, she tip-toed out into the main shaft, and sank down to sit by the foot of the door to Tobias's room.

"I know you can hear me," she murmured. She noted Tom growling at another person who had ventured too close to the entrance to the main shaft, but ignored the beast.

Of course I can hear you, Rachel, and I don't want you to go. It's dangerous. It might as well be a trap. Who'd know what Melissa would do? You didn't see this coming. No-one could blame you if –

"Look," she said, very softly, "I didn't survive this far by being gullible. Maybe… Melissa'd been my best friend for years. I couldn't see her turning on me. I just couldn't. It turns out I was wrong – I made a mistake. And since it was _my_ mistake, _I_ will set it right."

But do you have to go alone –

"I'm taking Tom."

Tobias did not comment. He was silent, for a moment. Then: I never got past the first time, Rachel, and I'd be damned if I let you go off on some suicidal mission a second time. You're not going. You're not going.

Rachel leaned her forehead against the door and closed her eyes. "Yes, I am," she whispered. In the background, Tom's growling was fading, and soon the beast came to rest beside Rachel, still staring suspiciously out towards the bridge.

Rachel, you can't –

"Don't ever tell me what I can or can't do, Tobias," Rachel interrupted in a sharp hiss. "Don't –"

But you'll _die_.

"They'll have to pass Tom first," Rachel pointed out, resting a trusting hand on her kii-raja's golden head.

And when they do?

"They won't," snapped Rachel, flying back to her feet. "They _won't_. I'm sick of this, Tobias – I can take care of myself. And if I can't, I've got Tom. Tom's a part of me, and I _trust_ him. Why can't you just do the same?!"

Rach –

"And stay out of my head, I can hardly hear myself think with your whining!" Rachel slammed a fist at the door, before turning on a heel and stalking back towards the docking area. Behind her, Tom began snarling again.

Rachel had barely reassumed her work on her fighter when she was interrupted: Jake called to her in thought-speech, asking her to control her pet, so they could safely fetch food from the storages.

Rachel told the beast to heel. Tom did. He followed his human as if glued to her side when she emerged from the docking area and sat down on the bridge to eat. Tom, being very angry and very protective, twice charged Jake as Jake tried and tried again to pass Rachel a jar of water, to drink. The second time, Rachel grasped Tom's ear and hauled him – whining unhappily – off, down into the main shaft.

"What's with the monster?" Marco asked the universe in general.

"Rachel's in a bad mood," Jeanne said with a shrug. "Tom knows it – and is multiplying it by ten for himself."

They heard a door in the corridor buzz open. Marco leaned back, to catch a glimpse of Rachel ushering her kii-raja into a room and closing the door behind him. A heart-wrenching howl followed.

"_Shut up_!" ordered Rachel sharply. "And…" She staggered, fell and collapsed against the wall behind her, clutching her temples, digging her fingers into her scalp. "…_get out of my head_. Both of you. _OUT_!"

Jake and Marco exchanged a look.

"Yeerk?" Marco ventured.

"Nah," Jake replied. "Tom."

"And Tobias, then."

Jake nodded.

"All in all, a splitting headache," Jeanne concluded, standing up. "By the way, did anyone feed the Controller?"

"Eh… nope."

"Then do so. I'll take care of Rachel." She started off towards the blind girl, over her shoulder adding: "And feed the bird."

Jake and Marco exchanged another look.

"He'll rip my face off if I get too close," Jake predicted.

"Rather yours than mine."

"He doesn't hate _you_."

"You mean, he doesn't hate me, _as far as we know_."

"Marco?"

"Yes, of Fearless and Wonderful Leader? Did I mention _Fearless_?"

"I feed the Controller. You feed the bird."

"Alas, not Fearless then: a coward."

"_Feed. The._ _Bi_–"

Marco threw his hands up in resignation. "All right, all right, I will."

.

"Are you hungry?" Marco asked the hawk. He carried a platter of food sorts more familiar to humans and hawks than _pata'oki_.

No, came the reply, from a Tobias perched as high as the room would allow: on the edge of the top bunk, in the two-bunk bed cut out of the wall.

"Thirsty?"

No. There was a short silence, before: Has Rachel left?

"No."

Marco… remember when I helped you with your father?

"Yes. So?" Marco stared at the hawk, trying to read his expression – and failing.

So you owe me one.

"You're not going to make me do something I know better than to do, are you?" Marco wondered suspiciously.

Do you want her to _die_? Again?

There was no need to ask who Tobias was referring to. His thought-voice was sharp as the cutting edge of a razor, and bitter enough to give Marco a bad taste in his mouth.

"Of course not," Marco said at once. "But… I don't think she will. This time, she's got that… that –"

_Creature_. You trust that thing?

"No," the human Animorph admitted. "But I trust it to look after Rachel."

Tom's a dumb beast, nothing more. A large dog. He can make a mistake. I'm not asking for much: just let me out of this cell and tell no-one. I'll look after Rachel, then, and bother no-one. Not even Jake – although he deserves it.

"Let you _out_? Jake would –"

Screw Jake – he's an idiot. The first time was bad enough, but _twice_? He sends her to the Blade Ship, alone, _twice_? You'd almost think he wanted Rachel dead. Screw him. Tobias's golden gaze locked onto Marco, accusing and fierce. Let me out. I have a plan.

"Why doesn't that make me feel better?" muttered Marco. He sighed. "Look, are you hungry or not?"

Marco. If she dies, and she probably will –

"Rachel can take care of herself."

Tobias was silent for a moment. Yeah, he agreed finally. She can. But she could 'take care of herself' the first time she went to the Blade Ship, too. She's worse off, now. First of all, she's _blind_. Secondly,_ she can't morph_.

With a fraction of a millimetre, Marco's eyes narrowed. "She's got Tom. She'll be fine. Don't worry."

Just let me out, and I'll make sure she's fine. If you don't, and she dies, can you live with it? Can you live thinking that you _could_ have opened that door, _could_ have let me out, and that might have saved her? Can you live with another Animorph's death on your conscience? Jake couldn't.

"I'm more cold-blooded than Jake."

It's on your shoulders, Tobias went on. Rachel dies, and you'll be just as much to blame as Jake. So just… open that door.

Marco, having deposited the food on the table set into the wall opposite the bunks, glanced at the hawk.

You owe me, Marco. And I _know_ you don't want Rachel to die. You don't want her to die any more than I do. And you're protective, Marco; I've seen it. You'd feel much better if you knew someone was keeping an eye on Rachel – someone with more brains than that walking golden growl. _Listen to __me_. Tobias's voice was like a desperate whip, making the human Animorph grimace as it struck his mind. She can't even _morph_.

Marco thought for a moment. His glance turned slowly into a scowl. "Damn you, bird boy," he snapped finally, feeling trapped. "Fine. _Fine_, then. What's this plan of yours?"

.

.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Author's Note:

Hello. If there are any errors in this, tell me, and be warned: it's not proofread. I don't have time to proofread it right now, but I thought I'd post it anyway.

So enjoy.

I'm not making any predictions for the next one, though. But to all of you who don't read anything not about the Animorphs themselves, I certainly hope you read the parts about Serfar-Arethan-Carnin and Ashley in the next one. It's important.


	42. How cookies build fleets

How cookies build fleets

-

-note: the thought-speech symbols wouldn't cooperate, so I improvised, using # instead.

-

Cassie's defiance against the Yeerks had surprised even herself. When she thought it over, she reached the conclusion that it felt as if – when any Animorphs were captive – _someone_ among the prisoners needed to defy the Yeerks. It was a matter of principles, of facts that were subconsciously drilled in: the Animorphs did not easily accept defeat. In fact, they did not accept it at all.

The job of defiance had always belonged to the others, the brave ones; Aximili and Rachel, foremost. Aximili for his pride, and Rachel for her recklessness. But Aximili was missing, and Rachel was dead, and there was no-one there who could help Cassie except herself.

She had been put in a surprisingly spacious force field cage in the corner of an unfamiliar cavern. In the cavern's centre there was a small Yeerk pool, carved out of the rocky ground, and its stench spread easily on the somewhat moist air. Cassie's guess was that the cavern was a natural cave, taken into use as it was, with only minor modifications, by the Yeerks. Along one wall a series of rooms, quarters for all Cassie knew, had been build – barely more than plywood walls with plywood doors. A control station stood in a corner opposite from Cassie, in full view from her cage. Hers was the only cage in the area.

There was only minimal movement around the cavern. Cassie, guessing the time to be around midday, had spent her time so far huddled in the deeper end of her cage, her legs drawn to her chest, her arms enfolding them, and her chin on her knees. She was tired, although keeping awake under the present circumstances was not difficult. She refused to speak, or to even acknowledge people who tried to communicate with her. She glowered out over the cavern, and carefully monitored anything that went on. Since nothing seemed to be happening, it was a dull task. She had counted six human-Controllers, who went about their tasks in a bored manner. The light of their day seemed to be glancing over at her, in her cage, and savouring the sight. They came and went through the cavern and into the different rooms, passing the control station now and again. Some stopped by the pool, leaned down, dropping off or taking up Yeerks from and to their ears: they were all voluntary.

Not-quite-as-voluntary were the Hork-Bajir. Cassie recognized them as those who had disappeared from Yellowstone. Each, when forced by two other Hork-Bajir to kneel at the pool, was immediately infested by a spare Yeerk when their first one left to feed. There were more Hork-Bajir than humans.

Of course: the human-Controllers could parade about outside, should they wish to, and were they not on duty. The Hork-Bajir, on the other hand, had to remain hidden. There were surely more human-Controllers than those she saw. But what Hork-Bajir-Controllers there were, were the thirteen visible to her: the thirteen who had been taken from Yellowstone.

Midday passed and another hour or two dragged away. After that, another force field was suddenly erected outside her own cage. Between the two force fields a tray with food had been put; and suddenly the inner force field disappeared, leaving the tray within easy reach.

Cassie looked at the tray, feeling thirst burn in her throat, and a stir of insistent hunger in her stomach. But...

"I'm not eating that," she declared to Ythram, who stood just outside the cage, having put the tray down. Ythram was the same Yeerk who had spoken to her, threatened and taunted her, all the way from her house and to this cavern. He was also, he had explained, the leader of the Yeerks, as he was the only sub-Visser among them.

The Yeerk made his host shrug. "Then don't." He sent her a sharp look, almost accusative. His host's features were plain and dull, but he had mastered the art of transforming them to convey nothing but menace. "What, do you think we'd poison you? Drug you, or _kill_ you?"

Cassie was silent. Ythram smiled suddenly; a mocking leer. "In that case, don't eat. If you don't, you'll turn as sluggish as any drug could cause you to be, and finally just as dead as any poison could make you. We'd win. Eat, or don't, we'd win. That is," he added dryly, "assuming we _are_ trying to poison you."

"People can last several weeks, even months, without food," Cassie told him. "They don't feel so good, but they'll live."

"How about without water?" challenged Ythram, making a gesture towards the bottle of water that lay on the tray. Then he continued in a snarl; "No, Animorph, we won't drug you, or poison you. A shot from a dracon gives the same result, but quicker and cheaper. Now eat."

"No."

"You're being childish."

"I'm surprised you even recognise that concept, Yeerk."

Ythram's host's face was contorted with anger. "Remember what I told you, little Animorph. Cooperate, and we'll let you have some degree of freedom, as a gesture of goodwill. Resist, and you'll be infested. It's up to you. _Now eat_!"

Before Ythram turned away, he sent Cassie a glance, and she was surprised to see fear in his eyes.

Goodwill, yes, and she had wondered why. Now she knew.

It felt very good to realise that the Yeerks feared her – she reached for the tray, almost beginning to giggle.

-

Serfar-Arethan-Carnin was not on his first choice assignment. Being a celebrated War Prince and working closely to the Inner Circle of Apex Level, he had almost been shocked at his latest task. After considering it more closely, he had reluctantly agreed that yes, it was important, but that did not make him much happier about it.

That was why Serfar was annoyed even before he stepped out of the Andalite transport and took his first look around docking station five of the human warship, the _PacificGriffin_. He paid no heed as the pilot and the two warriors who were his escort unloaded his few things from the transport, and even less heed to the lowly human soldier who came up and made a quick salute.

"War Prince Serfar, I presume," said the soldier, preparing to say more, but Serfar silenced him with a sharp glare. He noted the paw-in-hand logo on the right shoulder of the soldier's soft-grey uniform, indicating a morphable.

He had been informed that the _PacificGriffin_ had a crew totalling to six hundred; including the technicians, medics, mess staff, officers, and himself. Of them, one hundred and fifty were morphables, led by three officers, who took their orders directly from the Captain and were loyal to no-one and nothing except the ship. Concerning his assignment, he would have to keep his eye on those three officers.

Serfar decided to go directly to the point. The War Council – more importantly, Apex Level – had given him a task, and it was best to get on with it. Even if it was tedious.

#Where is the Captain? he asked. I was informed that I would meet the Captain here.#

"Our Captain is too busy to run errands such as welcoming you to our ship, sir," the morphable said calmly.

'Too busy'? He was an Apex Level War Prince! He deserved to be welcomed by someone ranking higher than this... this simple soldier. #Then the tactical officer? The first officer? Surely – #

"Pardon me, sir, but I have been ordered to take you directly to –"

#Hush, soldier!# Serfar snapped. #Very well. If they are not here you will have to fetch them. And hurry up – I do not have all day.#

The soldier remained where he was, and did not even alter his expression. He took a breath to speak again, but Serfar had already turned his back.

His things, packed in a small cubical container, were on the floor outside the transport he had arrived in. The pilot and the two warriors stood waiting for his dismissal. He gave it with a mental sigh, and the three trooped into the transport to wait for permission to launch.

Turning back around, Serfar saw the soldier still standing where he had been left.

"Sir, I have –"

#Stop this nonsense and fetch an officer!#

"Sir, you –"

#And it is not 'sir',# Serfar spat. #I am not a simple human officer, but an Andalite War Prince. You are to treat me as such.#

"War Prince Serfar," the soldier agreed, bowing his head slightly but then looking Serfar straight in the eye. "I have orders to bring you directly to the Captain's offices. You do not seem eager to go, but that is not my problem. You are to follow me there, now, and whether it is done freely or in chains is your choice."

Serfar stared at him, main eyes slowly narrowing. #Do your officers know that you use such language – threatening your superiors?#

"Pardon me, War Prince. But those were the Captain's own words – your irritation at not being 'properly welcomed' was foreseen. Shall we go, or will I need to fetch those chains?"

The two stared at each other for a few moments, testing who would give in first. Under the War Prince's sharp glare the soldier finally looked away, but it was only to say; "Ah, well. Then would you please wait here, War Prince, for the chains are heavy and it'll take some time to fetch them."

He glanced up at Serfar and successfully avoided to laugh at the ill-fit expression of defeat on the Andalite's stony face.

#Lead the way, soldier,# Serfar muttered. He was going to be forced to have a few harsh words with this so-called Captain.

As the soldier led him through the corridors of the _PacificGriffin_, he began to specify to himself exactly which words, each darker and harsher than the previous one. He was not going to let himself be treated this way. And it was – as the Inner Circle had said – just a matter of showing this human Captain who would truly be running the ship.

Greeted by a simple soldier! He was of _Apex_ _Level_! They could at least have sent the first or tactical officer.

His tail inched upwards and his face grew darker and darker. But when they reached the first room of the Captain's offices – part of the Captain's quarters – he quickly got rid of the expression, lowered his tail and adapted a nonchalant but appropriately arrogant pose. There were two guards sitting by a table playing with rectangular pieces of paper with shapes on them; both morphables, who dropped the papers and stood up to watch him alertly as he passed.

The soldier stopped by a door and turned for a quick bow. "Here it is, War Prince. I advice you not to keep the Captain waiting."

Serfar stared angrily at the still-closed door, and then at the soldier, who made no move to open it. In fact, he had already turned away to join his friends.

Serfar was steaming with anger as he slammed a hand on the pad, thought open , and stepped in through the opening door.

The soldier made sure the door had closed behind the Andalite War-Prince and then barked a laugh.

"What?" one of the guards asked.

He grinned. "I'd have paid big money to see that one confront the Captain."

-

The Captain of the _PacificGriffin_, who went under the name of Ashley Brown, was not in her best mood as she waited for the Andalite. The War Council had sent him to be official "advisor" on her ship. The advisor was part of a compromise between the Earth Council and the War Council; it had been about who would be in charge of the ships, and the Andalites had not provided so much help in building them for free. (The settlement would not have worked so well if the War Council negotiators hadn't been bribed with chocolate chip cookies, but that was beside the point.)

The Earth Council officials that had briefed her about it had warned her and the other two Captains of these so-called "advisors". There was, of course, a concealed purpose of the entire affair; and it didn't take a genius to spot it. The advisor was there to not only advice the "inexperienced human crew" on their "first journey with an intergalactic warship", but also to make sure the ship followed eventual Andalite plans that the Andalites had – for some reason or other – refrained from informing their allies of. To make sure the ship kept in line, simply put; in the _Andalite_ line.

Ashley was not going to play along. This was her ship; that meant she was in charge, not some non-human. Not some Andalite who probably didn't even understand why the crew needed chairs and tables in the mess hall – or a mess hall at all, for that matter.

When the Andalite finally arrived into her office, you could tell from his face that he had a sharp remark or two waiting to be said. But they kept waiting. He stopped a step inside the door, staring at the Captain with so much surprise that he obviously forgot what to say.

So much the better. "Something wrong?" Ashley wondered, eyebrows raised.

#Where is the Captain?# the Andalite replied.

Ashley kept her eyes from flashing. "You're looking at her," she said, voice carefully levelled.

_#You_ are the Captain?#

"No, I'm the Captain's pet iguana. Do you want me to forward a message?" At the Andalite's thoroughly confused expression, she rolled her eyes and continued; "Yes, I _am_ the Captain. Maybe you were expecting someone male... didn't you not read the crew introduction they sent you?" A note of razor appeared into her manner as she continued; "Or are there any problems?"

He blinked, but quickly collected himself and straightened. #No; none at all... Captain.#

She decided to overlook the sneer and hesitation about that last word. "Good. I'd ask you to sit, but you probably prefer to remain standing. Your name would be..." she glanced at her papers, tidily arranged on the desk she was sitting behind. "...there it is. Serfar-Arethan-Carnin, War Prince of Apex Level."

Serfar flicked his tail to confirm that. He seemed to have recovered from his speechlessness. #Correct, and as a War Prince – #

"Wait until I've finished," the Captain said sharply, sending him a glare. Then returned to looking at her papers. "You are stationed here as an advisor."

#Correct.#

"Do you know the details of your responsibilities as such?"

#To the letter.#

"Good," Ashley said, letting her voice grow sharper. "Have you then forgotten that it states clearly in paragraph nine of the Advisor Compromise that you are to follow my orders?!"

The Andalite blinked, but looked more annoyed than alarmed. #Concerning what?#

"Concerning that I sent for you two days ago and specifically told you come to this ship and report to my office within TEN hours. By now, it has been FIFTY-THREE hours – and twenty-four minutes. Do you know how to count, advisor?"

#Of course,# Serfar muttered. #But a certain – #

"I don't care if your own mother was caught by Yeerks and held for ransom," the Captain growled. "Such behaviour is unacceptable. I could have you on trial for mutiny for that. Understood?"

#Since I am not ordinarily part of _this_ Fleet, what I do before I report for duty is my business and mine alone. You cannot accuse me of anything I've done before entering this room,# Serfar argued. And added with a sneer; #As a Captain you should know that.#

"Maybe so," Ashley agreed. "But you've come off to a bad start here. Showing up forty-three hours late the first thing you do is disrespecting me, this ship, the entire human armada, and the Earth Council itself. I'll be honest; I don't consider myself to need a baby-sitter; if I wasn't capable of leading this ship on my own, the Earth Council would never have appointed me. I accept your presence here, and will pay heed to your advice, but if you think you're going to boss me around; think again. You're _not_."

The Andalite's expression flickered to surprise and anger and back to nonchalance. #Of course not, Captain.#

"Good."

#Captain,# the advisor began. #According to paragraph – #

Ashley waved a hand to silence him and continued. "Paragraph eight says that the advisor lacks an official place in the ship's ranking. Your place is as my advisor, and you are unable to give direct orders to anyone on the ship. In the case of my absence, or death, the first officer takes over and you become his advisor instead. You are not in any way going to command anyone on this ship to do anything, least of all myself or the officers."

Serfar's tail was, by then, twitching.

Ashley sighed. "Of course," she said. "You are to be treated with the respect that comes with your ordinary rank, which means proper addressing, courteousness, and you can tell the soldiers to run simple errands." She glanced down at her papers again. "What else? Oh, yes. A soldier will show you to your quarters. There are two other Andalites on this ship – a technician, and a medic – and they'll show you on where you can graze, and make sure you have everything you need. Any questions?"

Serfar shook his head, a gesture he must have picked up from humans somewhere. It was growing more and more common for Andalites to nod and shake their heads. #No, Captain. It shall be as you command.#

"Good that we understand each other." She glanced up at him, watching his face carefully for any mood swings. "One more thing – just to avoid misunderstandings further on. As you probably have guessed, I am aware of the little plans you Andalites at Apex Level have for these human ships. Unfortunately for you, we Captains are going to harder pieces to play than you counted on us to be."

#Pieces, Captain?# Serfar wondered, putting on an innocent expression.

"Drop the charade. That's an order. Do you have instructions to... control... this ship, or not?"

Serfar regarded her, his eyes ad gaze purposefully chilled – too chilled. #Not officially, and I would not put it in those words,# he said finally. #The term used was to "guide". Which, I believe is – in its own way – a synonym for "advice".#

"Paragraph two mentions something about the advisor having a 'right to guide'," Ashley recalled, forehead wrinkled. "It is a bit unclear – although that is probably the point." She sighed again. "Anything else I should know?"

#Yes,# Serfar said, now visibly straining to keep his arrogance on a short leash. #The Advisor Compromise goes both ways. It also states that the Captain is obliged to listen to the advisor, unless – #

"I'll do so, I told you. I know the Compromise just as well as you do. All eleven paragraphs. If there's a loophole for you to crawl through and start giving orders somewhere –"

#My word will – however you fight it – weigh heavily with the decision-making on this ship, so I suggest you get used to listening to me,# Serfar snapped. #And let me finish my sentences, because I usually have important things to say. I am not a patient Andalite, and being constantly cut short tends to worsen my mood.#

Ashley gave a curt nod. "I will keep that in mind," she muttered coolly. "Again, any questions? If not, then you are dismissed."

#Captain, listen to me,# the advisor spat, now visibly angered, tail inching upwards. He probably thought that she would not notice, being unused to Andalites as she was – he was wrong.

Ashley flew to her feet. "Raise that tail against me a millimetre more – _ever_ – and you'll regret it!" she growled.

Serfar lowered his tail, looking annoyed, but realising that she was right. He would have to keep himself in check; it would not do to threaten a Captain on his – _her_ – own ship, human or not. Ashley slowly sank back into her seat, one eye on his tail and one glaring at his face. Amazing how humans could do that, when their eyes were so closely linked, and it was not the first time Serfar noticed it.

"What do you have to say?"

#According to paragraph twelve –#

"There are only eleven paragraphs."

Serfar let a gleeful smile peer forth through his eyes. #No; one was added at the last moment. Were you not informed? How... _unfortunate_. You may of course call the Earth Council and have them confirm it, if you wish.#

He waited to see if she would do so, even gestured towards the communications pad on the desk, but Ashley did not move. "Proceed."

A slight bow of stalks and the advisor did. #I am to keep a careful record of your every decision,# he said. #And I _am_ able to take control. Should I find one of your decisions to be completely unacceptable, for some reason – for example inexperience or simple stupidity – I am at my full rights to relieve you of command, with immediate effect, and take your place.#

He smiled victoriously at her, and preformed a mocking bow. #We Andalites are not easy pieces to play, either, as you are about to find out.#

He turned and left the room. The door closed behind him with a soft thud – although a loud bang would have felt so much more appropriate.

Ashley stayed in her chair, hands gripping the armrests tightly. She counted silently to ten and back to zero to calm herself, and then reached for the communications pad.

"Yes, Captain?" the voice coming from it said.

"I want to speak to the Andalite medic, Ferili," Ashley said, and heard a slight click as the transmission was sent through.

"This is Ferili," said the medic, the network translating his thought-speech into a spoken voice.

"I have a question for you, Ferili," Ashley replied, her voice as pleasant as she could make it. "If I wanted to kick an Andalite male where it _really_ hurts, where would I kick?"

-

"Are you sure about this?"

#Do you have a better idea?#

"Flea? Mosquito?"

#Tom would know I was there. He'd tell Rachel.#

"So instead..."

#Yep.#

Marco gave the hawk, who was seated on his lower arm, a long stare. "Should I go in there and tell him dinner is served, or do you think he'll figure that out for himself?"

#He'll probably figure it out on his own, yes,# Tobias sighed. #You're sure he's in here?#

"This is where Rachel threw him in. Can you think of anyone likely to move him?"

#Jeanne?#

"Not when he's in this mood, no."

#Oh, well. Here goes. Let me in.#

Marco opened the door, using the panel beside it. He held out his arm, and watched Tobias flap down to the floor. Two golden eyes watched from inside the room, silent and alert.

"Good luck. I'll get the desert when you're done."

#Thanks. I really appreciate it.# Tobias glared up at his friend, before turning and waddling ahead, as gracefully as his hawk body was capable of. His claws clicked against the steel floor, very softly. He was careful to make no hurried movements.

#The theory,# he said, mostly to himself, #is that I'm not a threat. To him. He'll know that. And since Rachel isn't nearby, I'm no threat to her, so perhaps he won't be so protective... and so aggressive. He'll just let me walk as I please.#

"Theory not taking into account that he's, hm, _not been fed_," Marco whispered – loudly, to Tobias's hawk ears.

#You know, Rachel usually has a point when she tells you to shut up,# Tobias snapped in reply. He had stopped, perhaps a meter or two from Tom's nose.

The hawk did not see well in the darkness, but some light from the corridor fell on the beast. He lay like a large dog, his front legs crossed on the floor, beneath his raised head, his ears pricked, his back legs sloppily spread out to the side and his long, Andalite-like tail lying in a perfect half-circle from his back end and around his back legs to beside his shoulder. He had fixated his golden eyes on Tobias. Now and again, his nose twitched. His ears, both aimed forwards, did not move. He breathed slowly, calmly.

But his golden gaze was fixated on the hawk.

#Hello there, Tom,# Tobias said carefully.

The beast's left ear turned, and then turned back to where it had begun.

#Just lie still, now,# Tobias nearly begged, as he advanced another step. #I just need a quick...#

Tom regarded him. He looked up past him, at Marco. His nose twitched, as if searching for something, and stopped when it found it and calmed down. He appeared bored. He rested his head on his front paws, and his eyes half-closed.

It was more than Tobias had hoped for. He waddled another step forwards, reached out...

The tip of his wing briefly touched the kii-raja's front paw. Tom's eyes slouched even more. His ears drooped.

Tobias felt the kii-raja DNA making its way into his bloodstream, like a shiver along his wing. He kept contact with the kii-raja, slowing the process as much as possible. He took a seat on Tom's neck, careful not to hurt the kii-raja with his claws, and careful to maintain contact with the beast.

#Now or never,# he muttered.

#Coming,# replied Marco, nervously, and a moment later large gorilla hands gripped the Tom around his ribcage and heaved him off the floor and onto a gorilla shoulder.

#Quickly, quickly,# urged Tobias. #I can't slow this much more, I have to let go...#

#He'll kill us both if you do.#

#Probably, yes.#

As quickly as Marco's gorilla morph could bring them there, they arrived at the least used room in the entire ship: the cleaning closet. Tom was hurriedly (but not ungently) placed on the floor – there was barely enough room – and as soon as Tobias had passed the door, Marco shut it.

#Hope he doesn't cause a racket,# Marco murmured. #You ready to try this?#

#As ready as I'll ever be. What's the time?#

#An hour to go. Then my shift ends, and it's time to wake everyone up to see Rachel off.#

#Perfect.#

Marco demorphed during the walk back to the room where Tom had been kept. He kept his teeth gritted, waiting for the sound of crashing or howling to break from the cleaning closet, but there was only silence. Tobias rode on his shoulder, but on reaching Tom's former prison, the hawk swept down to the floor.

Tobias searched for the new DNA within him, and found it easily. He focused on it, focused on Tom – how easy it was to recall and focus on the golden eyes, and the sharp teeth, which had been vividly imprinted into his memory. As he focused, he felt the changes begin. He grew. His feathers shrunk, turning into golden fur. His beak transformed into a muzzle and sharp teeth, and ears grew out of the sides of his head. His tail-feathers extended ridiculously before spinning together and forming a tail.

And then it was done. He sat back in his new body, waiting for the kii-raja mind to set in. It crept up on him, almost cautiously, and melded with his own: he neither welcomed nor dreaded it. Relieved that the mind had not overwhelmed him, he tested his new limbs.

He had morphed a cat once, a long time ago. His own, long lost cat: Dude. The kii-raja moved with the same fluid, slightly lazy manner; as if knowing that nothing could make him tired, but why push it? Tobias searched for details.

Surprisingly, the creature was well aware of both its capabilities and its limits. If it had known how to count, it would have been able to tell to the centimetre how high it was able to jump, or how far it could run at any given speed, and what its speed limit actually was. It was hard not to be surprised at the certain facts, and at how the kii-raja seemed able to analyse itself.

The kii-raja had a choice; extremely fast for a short period of time, or a lazy run, that could be kept up as long as necessary. He was unafraid, unworried, and not overwhelmed by hunger or other needs. He was in control of his surroundings; and perfectly aware of what those surroundings were.

He was, though, instinctively afraid of water, deep water, dark water, treacherous water. For in water lurked dangers – a remnant from the wild kii-rajas many years ago, back on the Kelbrid's long-gone planet, Tobias thought, remembering that Kelbrid were not fond of water either. He wondered what kind of monster could so frighten a beast that was so self-confident.

Self-confident or not, Tobias soon noted that the kii-raja was looking for a leader. The kii-raja needed someone to tell him what to do, or he would be confused, afraid and lost. Tobias suppressed that feeling – with a bit of effort – and explored his new senses.

The sense of hearing was excellent – Tobias was sure he would be able to hear if someone dropped a feather in the next room. The eyesight, though, was nothing to marvel about – especially not compared to his own hawk eyes. Not that great depth of vision, no good with details, probably no good at distances, either, and more interested in motion than shapes, but decent colours – although everything was slightly purple.

Is that what Rachel had lived with for the last year?

But that nose. It was not a sense of smell, really... Tobias found that the kii-raja "smelled" the way the living creatures around him were built. He smelled their DNA – there was no other explanation. And from it, he could at once draw up a picture of how the creature looked, its strengths and weaknesses, its speed and stamina and size, without having to see it. The kii-raja would evaluate the information, and at once know exactly how and if the creature – whatever it was – could be beaten. And the closer he came, the more details he could find.

Marco's form confused him, though. Marco was carrying his own DNA. But it was jumbled... mixed with other DNA:s. A morphable, was Tobias's calm analysis, but the pictures that the kii-raja mind drew up as it tried to sort it all out were not pretty.

It caused his lip to curl. He had to take a tight grip on his new morph to keep it calm. This creature in front of him was not natural. The creature should not exist.

And the error must be corrected.

When Tobias had managed to calm the kii-raja mind he thought over the fact that Tom seemed to have had nothing against morphables, even the first time he had come across them, in Rachel's house. But the instinct was clear: _unnatural_. _Kill_ _it_.

The first explanation came to Tobias in a sigh of obviousness: Rachel was a morphable, too. But then Tobias remembered that Rachel had _lost_ her morphing powers. She was unable to morph, no longer a morphable, and should no longer smell like a morphable.

Or should she? Did she?

He would find out soon enough. All he needed to do was go near her, and the strange kii-raja nose would surely paint her up as it had done the others.

"Hey, bird-boy? You okay in there?" Marco's voice wondered.

Tobias twitched his tail experimentally and glanced up towards Marco. Not really up, though – when he straightened, his nose was about the same level as Marco's jaw.

#Yeah,# Tobias said. #I'm fine.#

Marco glanced around nervously. The kii-raja noted that. The kii-raja noted the way he shifted his weight to another foot, noted the way his mouth opened as if to say something but then closed again... noted the way he turned his head towards the door, the foolish creature, and thereby bared his very vulnerable throat –

Tobias held his morph on a very tight leash. This was not Tom. Tom almost seemed docile when compared to the cold-blooded, observant killing-machine that was a true, instinctive kii-raja.

Of course. He had known he would be morphing a full-fledged kii-raja, acting on instinct and intelligence; not some tame beast, hand-fed from young age and used to seeing both Kelbrid and humans as something other than food. Used to taking the orders his mind pleaded for from what his instinct would have told him to hunt and eat. Mostly orders from Rachel – _only_ orders from Rachel.

This kii-raja was still looking for someone to tell him what to do, yes; looking for another kii-raja. Any creature he encountered until he found that kii-raja was either unworthy of his attention, or dinner.

Including Rachel.

And if the kii-raja mind kept being so ultra-focused, so totally dedicated to his surroundings, the weaknesses of those around him and the numerous ways he could attack, kill, and eat them, then this was going to be harder than Tobias had thought.

"Tobias?" Marco said. "You look a little... brought down."

#You can tell?#

Marco nodded. "That beast Rachel has always looks like he's the king of the jungle. So did you, a moment ago. Now you don't. How's the morph?"

Tobias let out a bitter laugh. #Marco, let me put it this way: be glad kii-rajas aren't ambitious. For in that case, they'd be more than just kings.#

Confusion passed over Marco's face but was instantly gone. He shook his head. "Can't believe I'm actually helping you do this. I don't mind you going with Rachel, you know that, but –"

#But what?# Tobias wondered, more sharply that he had intended to. The kii-raja had detected a threat, however slim, in Marco's words – and did not like it. Again he had to hold his morph back. He felt his ears twitch, and there was a sudden itch in his claws.

Marco took a step away and held his hands up as if in defence. "Hey, don't get mad at me while you're in that morph. You know I don't like Tom, and I can't say I feel much better about you."

Tobias sat down. #Sorry. He's just a bit edgy. He keeps...#

"What?"

#He keeps pointing out details. Weaknesses. Like when you turned your head, just now, and your throat was bared, I could barely to keep him back.#

Marco's hand went immediately to his throat as if to protect it.

#Now your side,# Tobias observed. #Completely unprotected. Do you know how many vital organs you have there? I'd just have to get up, dive in, snap my teeth shut and – #

"Tobias!" Marco complained. "_Don't_. _Do_. _That_."

Tobias realised what he had been saying and grabbed a tighter hold of the kii-raja mind. He ignored the expectant tingle in his teeth. #Sorry. Do you understand what I mean? This thing is...#

"What?" Marco asked nervously, wondering what part of him was attracting the kii-raja's attention this time.

_#Kii_-_raja_, it means 'the one who chases', doesn't it? That's exactly what this is. The perfect hunter.#

-

It was a strange, and strangely eventless morning. Marco left Tobias waiting in Tom's room. Tobias claimed that he could smell everyone on the ship as the door opened, and the scent was fresh. He could tell that Tom had been in that very room a short time before, but could also tell in what direction and roughly how far away the kii-raja was at the time. He could sense morphables in the direction of the sleeping quarters, and he could sense traces of them from where they had passed down the corridor. He could sense Santorelli, _and_ something which must have been the Yeerk, up on the bridge.

Marco walked about feeling uneasy. He could tell that Jake, too, felt uneasy – the one most at ease must have been Rachel. She purposefully ate her breakfast, fetched the kii-raja in the room where she had left Tom, curtly said her farewells, and with a businesslike manner made her way to her fighter.

She closed tossed her pack inside, motioned her kii-raja in, and turned to her cousin. "I'll meet you on Cava'ara in a few days. I won't have any troubles finding you if you wait there."

"Take care," Jeanne said.

Rachel nodded, backed into her fighter, and closed the door.

The remaining group retreated from the docking station, and Rachel launched her fighter and was gone.

The same moment as her fighter parted from the _Rachel_, a cry of despair rose from deeper into the ship.

Marco's spine froze to ice, for he knew that it came from the cleaning closet.

There was a crash, and the sound of clawed paws frantically rushing over steel floors.

Tom burst into the other end of the corridor, a shadow of gold, and in a blur he had burst past the group and threw himself wildly at the first of the two doors where the _Hawk_ had been docked.

No-one had any time to move, and at first, nothing happened: for a moment, there was not a single sound heard. But then, as Tom's considerable weight multiplied with his considerable acceleration, turning into considerable force, his considerably sharp claws gained hold of the door, punctured it... and suddenly there came the horrible wailing of metal being torn.

In his attempts to get to his human, the beast was ripping his way right through the wall – and if no-one stopped him he would continue to tear his way right out into open space.

-

-

-

Author's Note:

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

There. That's what happens when you separate a kii-raja from his master. They tend to go sort of... desperate.

Hahaha.

So... what could _possibly_ happen next?

That, dear readers, is for me to know and you to fret about.

Or, more correctly, for you to fret about and me to figure out. Hm.

Like last time, this is not proof-read, but it's finished... and the next one will take time, since I have no time. I'm only home weekends nowadays. I take a buss to work on Sunday afternoons, and return home midnight on Fridays. Between then it's busy, busy, busy, and while I'm home I mostly sleep. So proof-reading will have to step down if any more of this is going to appear at all.


	43. When a betrayal is betrayed

**When a betrayal is betrayed **

_(thought-speech signs are still marked as #) _

* * *

"He's going to rip his way right through the hull of the ship!" Marco exclaimed in dawning horror.

"Stop him!" Jake snapped, but no-one had any intentions of stepping between the maddened, desperate kii-raja and the wall he was about to tear apart.

No-one except Jeanne. While Marco and Jake lunged for the beast's tail and pulled, doing about as much good as a pair of kittens trying to stop a tank, Jeanne dove for Tom's head. She went in under his front legs, gripping his lower jaw and forcing it down to get his attention. Passing that first wall might only put the kii-raja in the tiny docking station where the _Hawk_ had rested, so if he got through it would not be a complete catastrophe; but from there there would only be one wall left for him to break through before coming out into open space – which he probably would.

At first it seemed like Tom might just keep tearing at the metal, even though he would tear Jeanne apart in the process, but then the beast hesitated and drew a long, quivering breath through his widened nostrils. With a sudden wail he sunk to the floor, against the torn wall, Jeanne being dragged down to disappear beneath him.

Jake and Marco exchanged a glance, weighing the risk of approaching the beast to the risk of the creature crushing Jeanne. Their dilemma was solved, though, when…

"Get off, Tom," Jeanne mumbled as she pushed the beast away and reappeared, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes as she leaned back against the wall.

Tom moved up on all fours, agile as a cat, to give her some more room, and then sat down next to her, his golden eyes glaring warning at Jake and Marco. The two wisely decided to keep their distance.

"Are you okay, Jeanne?" Marco inquired.

Jeanne nodded. She had leaned forwards and was inspecting one of Tom's front paws; they were both bleeding heavily. One claw was torn out and hung from only a slight patch of skin. Tom did not even flinch as she lifted the paw and spread the three toes to remove a piece of metal that had been driven deep into flesh. He only pressed his cold nose against her neck and kept glaring at the other two humans.

"Get the medic kit," Jeanne instructed.

Jake did so. He kept a wary eye on the kii-raja as he neared the two to give Jeanne the kit, and just as he had suspected –

Tom made his way past Jeanne, somehow without even brushing past her, and flew towards Jake.

"Tom _NO_!" Jeanne cried.

Jake was already knocked to the floor and Tom pulled back just short of closing his teeth around the human's head. He leapt back, positioning himself between Jeanne and the two others, teeth bared and snarling so loudly that the entire ship quavered. Jeanne took a quick step forwards and slapped the back of her hand across the beast's nose. Tom leapt aside, whining, and Jeanne quickly snatched the medic kit from beside Jake.

Jake put a cautious distance between himself and the beast before he climbed back to his feet.

"Careful," Jeanne told him and Marco, with her back turned to them both. She made Tom sit in front of her and taking one of his front paws in her lap to begin seeing over the wounds.

And felt like she had suddenly grown eyes in the back of her neck. Tom, glaring over her shoulder and baring his teeth at the two Animorphs, was sending her thought-pictures to tell her what he was seeing.

It was impossible to concentrate on what her own eyes told her with Tom's visions added over them.

"Stop that," she said to him, and as if he understood the thought-pictures faded away. She glanced curiously up at him, suddenly realising that he had just taken an order.

An order from her – not from Rachel. She swallowed, once, her throat suddenly dry. "Jake?"

"What?"

Jeanne made a gesture for Tom to stay, stood up, the medic kit in her hand, and walked across the bridge. There she sat down again. "Tell him _yaysh_."

"Are you sure?" Marco yipped. "He'll go for Rachel –"

"Shut up, Marco. Jake? Go on."

Jake frowned at her, then shrugged. "_Yaysh_," he told the kii-raja.

Tom's golden eyes fixated on Jake.

"_Yaysh_," Jake repeated sternly.

Tom stood up, and limped over to sit next to Jeanne. He resumed glaring at Jake and Marco. Jeanne smiled a small smile, taking his front paw and continuing picking shards of metal from between his toes.

"What was that about?" Marco asked.

"Just to confirm a theory."

"What theory?"

"Tom's taking orders from me, now," Jeanne said nonchalantly, surveying the paw. She stuffed cotton between his toes, and began to wrap bandages in eights around it.

Marco and Jake exchanged a look. "Tom's chosen a new master," Jake concluded. "Quickly. Very quickly. Wasn't he supposed to be _loyal_?"

"He can't sense Rachel anymore," Jeanne said. "She's gone into z-space – he came out here when she went into z-space, remember? That probably cut the mental bond – he thinks she's dead."

Marco nodded, slowly. "Makes sense. And from there it's not that hard. He loses one master – he arranges another. I get that. Now what I don't get is why he picked Jeanne when _I_ was around."

"That's simple, too," Jeanne muttered, focused on wrapping bandages around Tom's other paw. "I'm the one who's been brave enough to feed him."

"Lucky, too," said Jake. "A rampant kii-raja, loose in the _Rachel_? Not my favourite scenario."

Jeanne finished off the bandaging, and pushed the kii-raja down to lie on the floor so he would not put any weight on the bandaged paws. "Rachel isn't going to be happy. We've made her kii-raja limp."

"He's got himself to blame," scoffed Marco.

Jeanne looked up sharply, eyebrows raised. Jake glanced at his friend and said; "Care to explain that to Rachel, once she gets back? And gets _Tom_ back?"

Marco considered it for a moment, and grimaced. "I see your point."

"There's one problem, though," Jeanne went on, stroking Tom's head. Images from his eyes flickered through her own mind like lost shadows – Tom was clearly in the habit of sending them. "If Tom is here… then who went with Rachel?"

Jake's expression flashed to dark in a second. "Tobias," he huffed.

"And who…" Jeanne murmured, a nod from her showing her belief in Jake's theory, "…helped him?"

Jake's dark expression remained, and he turned to his best friend. "Marco."

"Coming to hasty conclusions, aren't we?" Marco exclaimed with a wide grin – too wide.

Jake only raised both eyebrows. He did not need to speak: his silence was just as effective in conveying his message: _explain yourself. And it better be good. _

"The bird was heartbroken," Marco said finally, very lowly and very slowly. "And he didn't want Rachel sent off on her own." Suddenly fierce, Marco spat: "Neither did I, Jake. And I know you didn't. What if she hadn't been on her own on the Blade Ship – what if you had spared one of us to go with her? She might have _lived_."

Jake reeled as if Marco had struck him. He practically swayed. "She might have," he croaked weakly.

"Or," Jeanne interjected, honouring Marco with a lethal stare, "_Two_ of you might have died. And what, exactly, makes you think Tom being exchanged for Tobias makes Rachel any safer? I can't imagine any creature in this universe who cares more for Rachel's welfare than this poor kii-raja."

Jake did not reply – he stared solidly at his toes, still white-faced and deep in thoughts and old regrets. "She _might_ have."

"Tobias is a _thinking_ creature, at least," Marco said, "as well as a morphable. And I don't always agree with what he does, but I trust him to look after Rachel. I _don't_ trust Tom. He's a simple beast, deep down. Tobias, on the other hand – Rachel will be safer with Tobias than with Tom." The last he uttered stubbornly, like a child restating a point as if to make it more true by repeating it.

"Shut up," Jeanne repeated. But, she well knew, the chance that Marco would actually be quiet was about as close to zero as you could come without ever hitting the mark. That is, unless you knocked him out. And _that_ idea was beginning to appeal to her more and more as Marco continued…

Jeanne glared at him, ignoring whatever he was saying, instead glancing up at Jake. "Come on, Jake," she said, rising and stepping up to him, offering him a hug as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Pulling back, she sought his gaze and smiled at him. "You might have lost two instead of one if you'd sent someone with Rachel to the Blade ship. You did all you could. And Rachel's fine, now."

"Let's just hope she stays that way," muttered Marco – but the combination of Jeanne's morbid stare and a sudden snarl from Tom made him throw up his hands and back away.

"It's not your fault," Jeanne said to Jake. "You always do your best. Don't listen to Marco."

"It's not just Marco. Not today. Today… I feel numb… like I failed someone," Jake whispered.

"You've failed none of us. Menderash? There was nothing to be done –"

"Not Menderash. This is too deep. It's one of… one of my own. One of the Animorphs."

"Aximili?"

Jake shook his head, very slowly. "Ax, I'm still working on. No, I haven't failed him. Not yet, at least." He frowned, his eyes blank as he rummaged in his mind, piecing together the flickers of warning, tying together threads. "It's Cassie." Suddenly certain, he nodded, and his face strengthened with resolve. "I think of Marco or Tobias or Rachel or Aximili, and I feel only grim contentment. The thought of Cassie is like feeling a fresh wound. Something's… very wrong."

"You're imagining things," Jeanne told him. "Cassie's on Earth, and Earth is just fine. Sometimes, Jake, I think you believe yourself happiest when something is wrong, and if nothing is wrong you search for something to be wrong. You thrive on finding things to put right."

Jake grimaced, and tried to dismiss his thoughts with a shrug. "You're probably correct."

"I probably am," Jeanne said heartily, but at the worried lines around Jake's eyes she did not agree with her own words. She knew those lines: she had seen them in the times after Jake had first found out about Aximili's capture.

* * *

There were few things which eased adapting as much as the lack of a choice. No Andalite had ever enjoyed confinement. Carali disliked it intensely. He understood from her expression that Minalea, who suffered from easy claustrophobia, was even more sickened by it. The confinement of shackles and ropes was different from the confinement of a small room, but just as keenly felt. Minalea was pale and stood bearing her lack of freedom by simple absentmindedness. The good humour and nerve she had shown while held in that tree on that unnamed planet had paled as soon as the shackles were returned to her. The Kelbrid had been brutal if not directly harmful, and Minalea had of course resisted them – at first – but when tied to a wall in a Touched Kelbrid's craft the fight seemed to slip out of her.

Taunts had streamed through the air, threats of what awaited them on Dina'amm. They had laughed at Minalea's half-hearted struggles: "Struggle while you can," one Kelbrid had hissed, "for once the Yeerks have you you'll be able to struggle no more."

Carali, tied just far enough away to be unable to comfort her with a simple touch, worried. He found that worrying about his companion kept his own mind clearer: giving in to worries for his own fate only made him want to scream, possible weep. But thoughts of what might be happening to Minalea only made him angry and determined.

He would see her safe through whatever they had to expect on Dina'amm.

The individual Kelbrid who had shown them – at least Minalea – kindness had not been amongst those to continue transporting them towards Dina'amm. As far as Carali knew, there was only the one, unfamiliar Kelbrid driving the fighter they were held in. He had seen no traces of any accompanying fighters.

In bored moments he had attempted to converse with Minalea, but her replies were listless at first and soon she stopped responding. Carali's mind reeled: how could she turn from so alive, so unconcerned at their capture, to so… broken?

As they finally arrived at Dina'amm, he could tell from the Touched's treatment of them that his worry was showing. He was not certain of exactly what betrayed it, but the Kelbrid handling Minalea constantly glanced warily his way, and those holding his arms kept their grips tight and rough. He could barely stumble along, scowling all the while.

His first impressions of Dina'amm were those of large trees – more large trees. Apparently Kelbrid were fond of trees. He did not have enough attention to spare from Minalea and his captors to take in any more of the sights than that.

They neared some sort of Kelbrid settlement – Carali could tell from the increase in activity, and the increase in onlookers – and that was where the unthinkable happened.

The Kelbrid around them stopped, greeting a fierce-looking Touched who had come to meet them. In quick voices they talked amidst themselves, and to the newcomer, and then Minalea was led one way, while Carali was steered the other.

#_No_!# he roared at once, digging his hooves into the soft soil – the wet and muddy soil, apparently it had rained – and trying to stop. #No! I go where she goes. I –#

A Kelbrid horn whipped across his face, and Carali found himself blinking and staring into the madly green pupils of the fierce-faced Touched. "You go where we lead you, Andalite. Nowhere else."

#Where are you taking me? I won't be separated from her. Let us… let us go together.# Carali found himself varying yelling with pleading, and he did not care: not a thought went to his honour or pride, he just could not bear the notion of Minalea alone and vulnerable in this foreign place. #I beg of you, let me come with her –#

"She's heading for the Blade ship," the Kelbrid told him coldly, his ears twitching outwards. "Truly care to join her? Oh, the Yeerks shall be pleased. They've captured enough Andalites to last them a long while, but I do believe she's the first female – the first the Glorious Whole will allow them to keep, that is. Valuable indeed." His ear-twitching smirk showed plainly in his green pupils.

Something flashed in front of Carali's eyes and mind and he charged forwards. He was immediately beaten down, receiving only the minor satisfaction of seeing the fierce-faced Kelbrid draw back with an annoyed huff as Carali's unthinking and foiled attack skimmed past him. #No no no –#As he hit the forest floor, Carali felt the whipping horns and beating kicks harass him, but he strained to his hooves and charged again, not caring at what.

Beaten down a second time, and a third, crying #_Minalea_!# in open thought-speech and uncaring for who might hear him. When there was no reply he finally curled into a heap on the ground and let the Kelbrid strike him.

They ceased as soon as they noticed his lack of resistance. He was dragged to his hooves, and dragged more than led away. Escaping him was trickling and broken thought-speech stream of #Minalea… let me… go with her… no, no…. Minalea. _Minalea_.#

He expected no reply – she was probably too far away already, and he had failed her, failed her. So easily had they been separated, and he might never see her again. Who knew what she would suffer, and it would be all his fault – he should have come after her sooner, brought her safe from that captured Jijfku ship, and not let this capture happen to begin with. Had he truly run as fast as he could while heading to that ship? Had he truly fought with all his might to escape his captors? Why had he simply warned her, instead of finding her and leading her out? Together, they might have stood a chance.

_Together_.

Why had he let the Kelbrid separate them? Why why _why_?

His thought-speech had descended to a sob. #Let… me…#

Then, impossibly: #Oh, Carali, I can't stand that any more, stop it. I hope you didn't make them hurt you too much.#

Carali could not care less about his own hurts: this was Minalea speaking, and she sounded almost herself. All his relief flooded towards her in the simple mention of her name: #_Minalea_.#

#I'm sorry I scared you. Well acted, though. Thanks to you, they'll truly believe my ruse – they'll believe I'm mostly harmless. There's only one of them with me, and he's barely holding on to me. I'll be able to flee easily. And I'll come back for you, don't worry. Just…# She hesitated.

#Just what?#

#If I don't come back… if I can't flee…#

#I'll flee, and I'll try to find you,# croaked Carali. #You know I will. But they're bringing you to the Blade ship, Minalea. They're… they've got… few females,# he finished weakly. He could find no more words, but he knew his stream of emotions and random thoughts reached her, and he could feel her mind grow numb as if she had been struck.

#Oh,# she finally whispered. #Well. Oh, well, I was planning on escaping in any case. Don't worry, Carali. We're not infested yet.#

#Plenty of time for that tomorrow,# Carali said darkly.

Minalea laughed softly, joylessly. Carali strained to hear her fading thought-speech as she went on: #Time enough to flee before then, Carali. Plenty of time.#

* * *

Even Olana was still trying to figure out how, but Ka'an had docked his small fighter craft seamlessly to the docking port at the _Phantom_'s rear. He, thus, used his craft as his personal quarters but could move freely around the Andalite ship.

He was, of course, present when Estrid hailed the _Rachel_, as she had promised Prince Jake she would. Recent events – the attack on Cava'ara and the kidnapping of Carali and Minalea – had put it out of her mind, but Estrid's memory was good enough to remind her of it.

Ka'an stood half a step to the side of Estrid, with all his easy Kelbrid nonchalance, although his placement effectively caused Olana, Larynia, and Aralgo to fall back and out of focus. At least Larynia was not pleased at this.

It was Marco's face which appeared on the screen, not Prince Jake's, and he looked haggard. "Oh, it's you," he said, with clear relief. Out from behind him peered an unknown human woman, with that golden beast of Rachel's at her heels. "Almost afraid it might have been Melissa again."

#Where is Prince Jake?# asked Estrid. #Not hurt?#

"He's fine. He's just asleep – and I think it best to let him sleep. Oh, by the way. This is Jeanne. I don't think you've met her before."

Jeanne gave a small wave, and Estrid nodded at her.

"Rachel?" Ka'an cut in sharply.

"Translate into thought-speech for me, Estrid, my Kelbrid isn't so good," asked Marco, and went on – after a deep breath: "She's gone back to the Blade ship. In her fighter. To kill Melissa – Melissa's turned on us."

"Then _what_ -" Ka'an hissed, and Estrid translated as he spoke "- is _Tom_ doing there?"

Marco looked uncomfortable. "Long story made short… Tobias didn't want Rachel to go on her own, but she didn't let him go with her, so he… morphed into Tom and took the beast's place."

Ka'an's expression was foreign, but clearly outraged. "Does Rachel know of this foolery?"

"For Tobias's sake, I hope not," Marco muttered.

Ka'an glared viciously at the Animorph for a moment, took a good look at both Jeanne and Tom, and then spun on his great claws and turned to stride back towards his fighter.

#Was Melissa the one who had been working on the Blade ship?# Larynia asked, stepping up to take Ka'an's vacated place.

"Yes."

#Then why did you trust her to begin with? You could have easily known she would betray you.#

"Melissa was also Rachel's childhood friend. They'd been best friends for years. And Rachel thought… well, she was wrong." He sighed, shaking his head. "We escaped Dina'amm unharmed, but we had to leave Melissa behind through sheer bad luck and she turned on us. And Santorelli was infested, but we have him under control."

#Infested is hardly unharmed,# Aralgo pointed out dryly.

"We're on our way to Cava'ara, so it's only temporary," Marco said. "Hopefully he'll be over it soon." Then the Animorph turned to Estrid. Curiosity appeared in his gaze. "I think it's time for you to tell us how you ended up in this quadrant of space. I know Jake will want to know, too."

#Shouldn't we wait for the Prince?# asked Estrid.

Marco shook his head. "Let him sleep – he's been having bad dreams, and has hardly been sleeping since we arrived on Dina'amm. Unless you're planning on calling back?"

Estrid made a quick decision. #I will, then. But first… Cava'ara was attacked. Just after we had arrived there.#

"Any casualties?" Marco wondered grimly.

#Amidst our Kelbrid hosts, yes, many. None of us Andalites died – but two were taken prisoner.#

Marco began letting of a stream of words Estrid did not recognize, and she was almost glad that her translating chip took its time figuring out what he meant. Behind him, Jeanne looked concerned. "Who? Do you know if they're still alive, where they're being taken?"

"They'll be alive," Marco muttered. "Alive and headed to the One, who will hand them over to his Yeerks."

"Dina'amm?"

#That's our guess too,# Estrid revealed, relieved that the Animorph and his friend had reached the same conclusion as she had herself, as if that confirmed it. #We're on our way after them.#

Marco nodded. "One thing which might be good to know," he said slowly, "is about Touch. You've heard of the Touched, I hope. Well, Touch… if one of your friends is subjected to it… can be cured with morphing. If you acquired the morphing power before you became Touched."

#Neither Minalea nor Carali would ever consider –# began Larynia haughtily #… _never_… becoming _Touched_. Never.#

"Not if given a choice, maybe. But there is one Andalite Touched already, that we know of. I don't suspect that was voluntary, either."

Olana and Aralgo exchanged a glance, which Estrid could see through her stalks. She also saw Ka'an coming back towards them.

"That Andalite Touched… do you mean the one Melissa told Menderash of?" Jeanne asked Marco, who nodded.

#Do you know more of it?# Larynia wondered. Her distaste was clear in the use of the word 'it', although she did not stress it.

"Menderash knew her. Arayah, he called her. Apparently she had served under Ax."

#Aximili?# both Estrid and Larynia exclaimed, and Marco nodded.

"The One has sent her to your Home World," Jeanne went on. "Hopefully… hopefully she'll never reach it. For a Touched is like a portal for the One, and a portal for the One on your Home World... needless to say, it's bad."

#Very bad,# agreed Estrid in a whisper. #Thank you for warning us. We will call back later and speak to your Prince… tell him so.#

"Be careful on Dina'amm. I suspect we'll join you there, as soon as Santorelli's come close enough to Cava'ara to become Yeerk-less. We still need to save Ax, and fetch back Rachel and Tobias."

Estrid nodded distractedly, and stood still where she was as Olana took over the communication and cut it. The scientist had suddenly been given many new things to think about, concerning the nature of the One and his Touched. Her calculations would need some tinkering. And it was growing more and more important to find the One and destroy him, and free Aximili.

Firstly, however, she needed to focus on poor Carali and Minalea, who were under double threat: infestation, and now Touch.

* * *

It was just as Rachel had managed to land her tiny craft undetected on Dina'amm's surface that she received the call from Ka'an. He was rushed, and angry, and spoke in harsh tones. She found out about the attack on Cava'ara, and the two missing Andalite _aristh_s, who most likely were being brought to Dina'amm, and told Ka'an she would keep an eye out.

As the main points of his message came through, she understood his fury – she echoed it. It was just… she doubted the truth of it.

How could it be, that Tom was not with her? He was asleep right behind her. His presence was warm and loving in the back of her head, as always. His dream-images flickered through her thoughts, a pale shadow of what he would be sending her while awake. And if that was not Tom, but Tobias…

The bond to her own beast must have been cut as she entered z-space. Tobias could have silently taken over Tom's place in her mind, and she might not have known. Dream-images were difficult to characterize, and Tom/Tobias had been asleep… she could not tell if that had been Tom's dreams, or if they might as easily have been Tobias's.

But Tobias would never do that to her. He could not. He should know what Tom meant to her.

Still, Ka'an had no reason to lie to her, and his anger had been real. She had to know. she turned towards where she knew the kii-raja lay asleep, and took the few steps towards him, kneeling in front of him.

She stroked the short fur over his head, and felt the dream-images grow stronger at her touch. She pulled gently at his ears, first one, then the other. The kii-raja mind slipped into awareness. His eyes slid open for a moment, revealing a picture of she herself seated in front of the beast.

"Tobias," she said then, and her voice was drenched with bitterness. She felt the images in her mind fade – the kii-raja's presence drew away, as if ashamed. That reaction confirmed what Ka'an had told her. "You might as well demorph," she hissed.

So far, there was only anger. But as she reached out, placing a hand on the kii-raja's muzzle and feeling it revert to the sharp beak of a hawk, she realised something else: if this was Tobias, and it was, then where was her Tom?

Still on the _Rachel_.

She had, unwittingly, left her beast on the _Rachel_. Pain raked through her mind at the thought; pain and fury.

Tobias had tricked her.

Her head was empty of Tom's images, Tom's presence. So empty. Tom was not beside her, and she was so alone, so alone…

Tobias's beak continued on to form the softer flesh of a human face. Rachel struck him as hard as she could, right across that face. She felt him reel back, surprised and shocked at the blow, and followed with her hands up to strike again.

"I hate you! How dare you take Tom away from me? _How dare you_! You can't –"

"Rachel, if –"

But the blind girl was not listening, going on, fury in her eyes and tears running down her cheeks, fists clenched and beating at the air in front of her in an unfocused attempt to find him and hurt him. He kept easily away, but then saw that she was heading right for a wall and was going to hurt _herself_ if she was not stopped. She was too angry to think of where she was. He took a hurried step forward, caught her arm and pulled her away from the wall.

At that opportunity, Rachel forgot her ranting. Instead she spun and flayed wildly with one fist at Tobias, where he should be. She felt her knuckles make contact with something which definitely was human, and heard a wheezing grunt. The hand let go of her arm – he must have backed away – so she followed, and swung another fist, now in eye-level.

He moved again; she heard a footfall to her left and then her wrists were seized and she felt a wall behind her back, an arm against her throat holding her back. She trashed and kicked, fiercely but aimlessly, not thinking.

"Calm down, Rach," growled Tobias's voice from somewhere out of her attention. "You'll break something. If you don't calm down I'm going to have to… no, just _calm down_ –"

But how could she calm down? They'd taken her kii-raja. They'd actually taken her kii-raja away from her. Tom would be so lost. Tom would be so, so lost. She was so lonely. Her head was empty, empty, no familiar kii-raja thoughts, no Tom –

_How dared he_? How dared he take away Tom!

"Rachel, calm down –"

A new burst of fury let her twist free – almost free, almost, but then caught and held against Tobias's chest, almost crushed by his arms, leaving her no room to breathe, less to thrash and struggle. She slowly realised, like someone walking up from narcosis, that he was holding her head in place by a grip on her neck and pressing his lips against her forehead, her cheeks, murmuring "calm down" over and over. She stopped trying to break free and a wobbling sob of "_Tom_" came over her lips. To quiet her, Tobias lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her properly, drinking her in as if his life depended on it, or as if hers did, and his arms tightened almost painfully around her.

It was almost as if he was desperate to keep her with him, fearing that she might disappear if he let her go.

Rachel couldn't move, she didn't know for how long, but she knew she didn't want to. When he finally released her neck, loosened the arms that had held her, she sank to her knees. She was only half aware of how Tobias followed, wrapping both arms around her again, more gently this time, wagging her from side to side and varying kissing her lips and forehead with whispering gently in her ear.

Only when she felt his lips tracing her cheeks did she realise that she was weeping, sobbing, and he was kissing away her tears, mumbling her name, drawing her closer, now comforting.

"I hate you. I _hate_ you," whispered Rachel weakly. "I hate –"

"No, you don't," Tobias said in a thick voice, hating to see her in tears.

"I do," Rachel insisted, and nestled up against him, arms thrown around his neck, and cried against his shoulder.

**

* * *

Author's Note:**

Well, here it is. After almost a year. Bad author. Well, I've been very busy. But now I sat down and made myself work on it, and finished it in five hours. Not proofread, unfortunately, but finished. So it you find any Major Mistakes, please tell me.

As last time, I'm making no promises about _when_. But it _will_ be up. Sometime.


	44. How to shatter trust

44 How to shatter trust

* * *

It was the middle of the night. Marco had been away from Earth for so long that his internal clock gave him no clues whatsoever concerning whether or not it was time for day or time for night, but the tiredness he felt assured him that it was the middle of the night, and he would do well to sleep. 

Still, groggily, he was slowly – and completely against his will – waking up.

Someone was rapping loudly on his door. "Knock knock, I know you're in there," Jeanne's voice called.

Marco turned over, hid his head beneath the pillow, and called back: "Yep, but beside the 'please knock' sign there is a 'do not disturb' sign."

"There is? I don't see it."

Marco stuffed the pillow back into its usual corner and thumped his head down on it, closing his eyes in frustration. "It's on vacation."

"Well then, too bad for you," said Jeanne pleasantly.

"Memo to self," muttered Marco, "hire new 'do not disturb' sign."

"I'm coming in," Jeanne announced. The door opened, and she did as she had warned of. Worse, though: she sent Tom on ahead.

The beast easily placed his paws on the edge of Marco's bunk – a top bunk – and glared at him, baring his teeth silently. Marco flew up to a sitting position and pulled back. When Jeanne withdrew the kii-raja, he was quick to escape the confined corner of his bunk and take a few hasty steps away. Already being dressed and ready for work – he had gone to bed feeling too lazy to do anything but fall onto his blankets and fall asleep – he started for the bridge.

"You really should get a leash for that thing," he muttered, passing his doorway with Jeanne and the kii-raja right at his heels.

"A leash? No, he wouldn't like a _leash_. Would you, Tom?" And she rubbed the beast's ears, smiling.

They reached the bridge. Marco rolled his eyes, and threw out an arm towards the two. "Behold, the universe's most spoiled kii-raja."

"_Spoiled_?" scoffed Jeanne, glaring up at the Animorph. "But anyway, Marco, a leash wouldn't do much good. He pulls, I fly. And I'll have a hard time crying 'Tom, _no_!' while flying."

"You know," mused Jake, from where he stood at the consoles, "she _does_ have a point."

"Point or no point, keep that thing out of my face."

"You mean 'keep it out of my face, _please_'?" Jeanne corrected.

"Whatever. Why did you wake me?"

"My turn to sleep," Jeanne said.

"That's _all_?"

"Yes," Jeanne confirmed, grabbing a sweatshirt she had left hanging over a console, to take with her. "Good night."

Marco grumbled, and glared at Jake. "Why does _she_ get to sleep?"

"For unlike some people who drool and snore, _she_ is perfectly adorable when she's asleep," Jake replied, his tone remarkably sober.

"You're not serious."

"Actually, I am. Haven't you noticed?"

"I have a feeling that if I try to find out, I'll have Tom at my throat. Have you heard the growls when Tom thinks you're committing some kind of crime – like _walking past part too close_? Damn Tobias for taking Tom's place with Rachel."

Jake gave him a studying look. "As part of _your_ plan."

"Tobias's plan, actually. And I never said it was perfect."

* * *

Carali was kept in what he could only call a steel pit. It was cylindrical in shape, with a single closed door (there was a steep, almost vertical path leading upwards outside it), and the only light and air came from the slight gap between the top of the walls and the roof, at least half a dozen tail-lengths over Carali's head. Even as they left him in this impossible pit, the Kelbrid had fitted him with heavy chains, beneath which he only wanted to sit down, but he feared that if he did, he would not be able to rise. 

The soil was moist beneath his hooves, offering water, but he soon grew hungry. He was tense from being a prisoner, unable to relax yet too weary to pace. Frightened, yet for the moment... he simply did not have the energy to care. Exhaustion made him drift in and out of sleep, and if not for the gradual decrease in light coming in from outside he would have had difficulties keeping track of time.

He forgot his discomforts as Minalea was roughly shoved in through the door of the pit. She stumbled and fell onto the floor with a soft cry, and the thud of metal striking soil. Unable to help her, Carali only knelt beside her as she struggled to sit.

#Don't be mad,# she pleaded. #I...#

#You failed.#

Minalea only looked at him helplessly.

#Why would I be mad?# Carali questioned quietly. #I'm only happy to see you. Still alive.# He had formulated the words from mere kindness, but found them true as he spoke them. #What happened?#

#I broke away easily,# Minalea told him with a flicker of pride. #I acquired the Kelbrid holding me, to daze him, and knocked him out with my tail-blade. #He never even saw me leave. He probably woke up wondering what had happened. I ran. But as soon as I thought I was out of Kelbrid reach...#

#They caught you.#

#No. Almost, though, for I nearly ran straight into them. I found a park of Andalite fighters. An entire field filled with them. And they all looked unharmed. They must be stolen, from our Fleet. The guards didn't notice me, fortunately. I snuck past them easily... two humans, playing some game with paper cards. I made my way to the middle of the park, and stole a fighter. I thought no-one noticed – I had it on silent running, and those two humans were too focused on their game to see me.#

#You were in an Andalite fighter, and you didn't simply _leave_?# Carali exclaimed.

Minalea almost looked grumpy. #I promised I'd return to you, didn't I?#

#Foolish. You should have left!#

#I don't want to leave any of my friends to the Yeerks, Carali,# Minalea informed him tartly. #Not even _you_.# She blinked. #Perhaps... especially not you.#

Carali stared at her. Gradually, her expression softened, and Carali leaned forwards to place his forehead against hers. She averted her eyes down, away from him, but as he touched a stalk against hers, she met his eyes again. #I'm grateful,# Carali told her.

#But?#

#But you should have left.#

#Why? I don't want to stay, and be infested, but I don't want to see _you_ infested, either, Carali. I couldn't face that.#

#I'll kill us both before I let them infest us!# Carali declared vehemently.

Minalea's eyes glittered with a pale smile. In that, she doubted him. #Would you really?#

#I... don't want to have the opportunity to find out.# He sighed. So you didn't leave. What happened?#

#I landed the fighter in a safe place, not far from where I had found it. I found a morph... some small animal... and began snooping around this camp, trying to figure out a way to free you. And that's when they caught me. One of their kii-rajas suddenly decided I wasn't as innocent as I appeared.#

#You could have stayed in morph.#

#Then they would have let the kii-raja kill me. I thought it was better to be alive and captured again, than dead. It's hard to escape once you're dead.#

#Rather dead than infested, though,# Carali said darkly.

#I'm not infested yet,# Minalea told him. #And I don't mean to be. Besides, on that front, good news. It seems the Kelbrid and Yeerks are arguing about something at the moment. Something about the Kelbrid on duty in the atmosphere not noticing how one of the Yeerks' Andalite fighters was stolen.# She lay down on her side, twisting her arms and upper body and tail in near-impossible angles, straining against her fetters. #Until they've solved it, I doubt the Kelbrid are going to hand us over to anyone.#

Carali frowned at her. #What are you doing, Minalea?#

#Getting out of these chains.#

#_You can do that_?#

She stopped twisting and smiled at him. #I've been arrested a few times – on the Home World. If I can get out of _those_ shackles, I should be able to get out of these amateurish things.#

#You've been _arrested_?# Carali said flatly.

#Once or twice.# She leaned her head to the side. #If you don't count all the other times.#

#For what?#

#Mostly Gatherings that went out of hand...# Minalea replied evasively. She returned her attention to the chains, scowling. #Now stop distracting me.#

#Sorry. I just can't believe they let you into the Academy after that.#

#What can I say? The Fleet's gone desperate.# She turned serious as she continued; #Actually, they sent me hoping the Academy could teach me discipline.#

#And Larynia and Olana?#

#Larynia went voluntarily – she wants to be a warrior, like her brothers. Olana went because we did – and to get away from home. Her family is not exactly exemplary.# Just then, Minalea shed her shackles, and looked at Carali with a triumphant expression. #See. Now what did I tell you?#

She wriggled free from the last of the fetters, and immediately helped Carali free from his.

#Now... how to get out of this pit?# she asked herself, beginning to look around. Her face lit up almost at once. #Do you have a really small morph, Carali? One that flies?#

#No. Only the _kafit_ and _djabala_ they supplied for the tests.#

#So you have no morph able to crawl out beneath that roof?#

Carali glanced at the crack between the roof and the tall walls, and then sighed. #No. I was told not to acquire anything for my own amusement. I follow orders.#

#I do not,# Minalea told him bluntly. #And it's helped me again. I have a _kirum_ morph. I can slither out, and then fly to safety. Let's see those kii-rajas catch me then!#

#If you _can_, then leave,# he said, eyes shining. #Quickly.#

The look she gave him in return was almost accusatory. #And what about you?#

#I'll be... fine.#

#No, you won't. You'll either be infested, or you'll kill yourself to avoid it.#

#Better just me than both of us.#

#Nonsense. They'll never manage to infest _us_. You said you'd kill us before you let that happen. Personally, I prefer thinking we'll simply _escape_ before that, but if you want to be melodramatic, then go right ahead.#

#Even if they don't infest us...# Carali sighed heavily. #Let's say they don't. _Yet_. But, Minalea; think. Put yourself in the enemy's place. You've captured _two_. Not one prisoner, but _two_. How many do you need for questioning?#

Minalea searched out the glint of his eyes in the darkness and locked her gaze into them, her mind remembering the exact brilliant shade of green they were. Remembering... how could she forget? #Theoretically... one.#

#Correct. That means you have one to spare. If you aren't much for charity – as I suspect the Kelbrid aren't – letting one live and be of no use is not an option. Remember our anti-espionage lessons – what options are there?#

#Anti-espionage lessons?#

#You _did_ go to them, didn't you?#

#Well... sometimes. If I was tired. It was a great place to sleep. Old Prince Camroth's voice was very soothing.#

Carali looked outraged. #Did you ever do anything else than sleep during your schooling? Aside from getting into trouble?#

#Not often,# she admitted.

#However you passed the Academy is beyond me.#

Minalea's eyes glittered in amusement. #I cheated. How else?#

#Bad Minalea,# Carali muttered.

She cupped a hand over his cheek. #If I hadn't, I'd never have met you.#

#And you'd never have been in this pit, either,# Carali pointed out, closing his main eyes and leaning into her hand. His stalks kept watching her. #You should leave while you have the chance.#

#Not without you.#

#Minalea, do not act like a silly youngster in love!#

#But that's what I _am_, Carali.#

#You are also an _aristh_ in the Andalite Fleet.#

#A bad one.#

#Just because you never went to anti-espionage lessons...# he sighed, interrupting himself. #No matter. Back to the relevant topic.#

#Which is?#

#Spare prisoners.#

Minalea flicked her tail nonchalantly to the side. #Kill them, turn them over to your allies, use them to bargain with, or use them... to make sure other prisoners talk.#

Carali stared deep into her eyes, watching as realization dawned on her. She grew slightly pale, but that was hidden by the darkness.

#Kelbrid do not kill or torture children,# Minalea pointed out, something desperate and stubborn appearing in her expression.

#From the way we acted yesterday, they're unlikely to think us children,# Carali countered. #Minalea?#

#Yes?#

It had never been so hard to cover his face with the _aristh_ calm, and it took him some time to succeed. #Do you want to betray the others? Betray Olana's Cava'ara-particle emitter? Or the human... Prince Jake... and his soldiers? Captain Kandion, the _Daybreak_? Or _Arnaha_?#

#They know of Prince Jake, the _Daybreak_, and _Arnaha_ already.#

#That's beside the point, Minalea. Do you wish to see them all betrayed?#

#No. No... of course not. But, Carali –#

#If you do not leave, they will be.# It was almost a threat.

Minalea blinked at him, uncomprehending, wondering at the harsh, thick tone of his voice.

Carali twisted in his shackles, inching closer to her and leaning his forehead against hers. #I truly wish I had met you on the Home World,# he whispered. #Somewhere safe. Somewhere I could touch your face, and not wonder whether I would ever do so again. I truly wish... no matter. Wishes never caught the _kifat_. Minalea, you must leave, for they _will_ question one of us, and... and if they do, the other will be... used as a hostage, of sorts. I can deal with my own pain. I... I think I can. But I would say anything to spare you. I...# His voice fell away, he closed his eyes, taking slow, deep breaths, and finally continued quietly; #I would tell them anything, _everything_. I'd tell them everything from my little brother's favourite colour, to the last detail of the Home World's defences. But... I do not wish to. Please leave, Minalea...#

#Carali...#

#My love, PLEASE.#

Minalea's hearts felt like they would burst. #But how do you expect me to leave after you use that word?#

* * *

Rachel had set the _Rachel_'s bearings for Cava'ara, and in another day the effects of the Cava'aran sun set in on Santorelli's Yeerk. When the Yeerk died, Santorelli – who for his last few moments as a Controller had been lying on the floor, clawing weakly at the force field in a final, vain attempt at escape – wordlessly sat up, on his knees, and stared silently at his hands, lying palm-up on his lap. 

Jake was asleep, but both Jeanne and Marco were present on the bridge. Jeanne sat down, also on her knees, in front of Santorelli, on the outside of the force field. Tom lay at the back of the bridge as he had been commanded, observing suspiciously, while Marco hunched down beside her. They both watched their recently freed friend intently.

"That," Santorelli whispered finally, "was awful."

"Get this force field down," Jeanne told Marco, who nodded and headed for the closest console.

"It was..." Santorelli went on, but paused in mid-sentence and stared out into space.

"Awful," offered Jeanne. With the force field now gone, she reached out to Santorelli and cupped a hand around his cheek. "Look at me. And listen. It's gone now. It's over."

But Santorelli shook his head, very slowly, and retreated from Jeanne's touch. "It's not over until the war is over. Until all the Yeerks are _dead_. Until..." From vehement, his face turned blank, and then fearful. "I might still... another Yeerk..."

"No, Santorelli," Marco said. "It isn't over yet, you're right. But infestations... we'll not let that happen."

"Like you didn't _let_ the first one happen?"

"That's unfair, and you know it," Jeanne murmured.

Marco made a helpless shrug. "Look, if this spooked you, we could always... well, you could –"

"'_Spooked_'?" echoed Santorelli. "You... you've never been infested. Neither of you. You don't know what you're talking about. You can just... just..."

Marco looked grim. "I never thought coming through the war uninfested would make me feel guilty. Congratulations, _that_ was a nice one. Jeanne, I'm going to wake Jake. Let him deal with this. Clearly there's some club here I'm not allowed to join, but Jake _has_ been infested." Marco spun around with the obvious intent of stalking away.

"So have I," Jeanne said.

Marco stopped dead – he turned to Jeanne: she sat still as a statue, he back very straight, and her eyes were fixed on Santorelli.

Santorelli did not reply her. Marco did. "What did you just say?" he demanded softly.

"It doesn't help," Jeanne murmured, speaking to Santorelli, ignoring Marco. Tom, sensing her mood, came up beside her, dropping to the floor at her side and resting his head comfortingly on her lap. "Whatever you do, or hear, or say, _it doesn't help_. You can't change the past. You can't change what you've been through, what you've felt, what you've..." she took a deep breath "...what you've _done_. Even if you truly weren't the one doing it. Nothing helps. All you can do is... move on. You don't forget. But you survive. Even if you don't want to, always... you survive. And that's all there is to it." She stroked Tom's ears absentmindedly. "But it never goes away."

"What happened to you?" wondered Santorelli.

"I'll tell you some other time," Jeanne promised. "I don't want to talk about it. I... suspect you don't want to hear about it."

"You're not afraid? Of..." Santorelli studied her.

"Being reinfested?" Jeanne shook her head. "Whatever they do, they can't do any worse than they already have. Besides, what good would it do to be afraid? My father used to say that there's only one way to face your fears... eye to eye. Head on."

Santorelli shuddered, and glanced away, uncomfortable. "I... just don't want..."

"Then make sure you're not infested a second time," Jeanne advised. "Stay sharp."

"What if... what if that's –"

"Don't let fear hold you. Being afraid is simple. But now and then, we can't afford to be frightened. We need to rise above it. Or simply try to forget it." She stood, and reached down a hand to Santorelli. "Come on. Let's get you lunch."

Santorelli hesitated, but then took her hand. She pulled him to his feet and led him away from the bridge. Tom followed at her heels.

Marco watched them go in silence. He had a feeling there was something Jeanne had not told them – and he had a feeling it was important.

For while Santorelli might have developed a fear for Yeerks just recently, which could affect his performance in the future, Jeanne had clearly buried hers. Marco was wondering what was buried, and how deep ... and when it would come out.

* * *

Cassie's third day in the small Yeerk pool area began as uninteresting as the others. She sat with her back against the wall, watching the erratic comings and goings of the many voluntary Controllers, and looking for familiar faces. She had learned to recognize Ythram's host, certainly, but also believed she could identify three of the morphable hosts – the ones who were the most dangerous. She hated seeing the trapped Hork-Bajir, and was determined to somehow save them, free them. 

As soon as she found a way to free herself.

It was late afternoon by the time another familiar face walked in through the doorway she had come to think of as the exit, and Cassie was swarmed with a mixture of surprise, despair, and rage.

It was Ronnie Chambers. Her own kind-hearted, sweet and reliable Ronnie Chambers, who she trusted, and loved.

She could not believe it.

He did not see her at first, continuing towards the pool with hurried steps. Apparently the Yeerk was hungry. He knelt at the end of the pier, and Cassie could see all to well how the Yeerk left his ear, disappearing into the sludgy waters.

Ronnie straightened, scratched his ear vigorously, and went to make a note in the computer by the pool.

Cassie, having sat silent and motionless, unable to speak, found her voice. "Ronnie," she called, not at all surprised to hear the pain in her speech.

Ronnie jumped, startled, and looked up. "Cassie!" he exclaimed. "But – you're – you're..." His face fell. "You're here."

"So are you," Cassie commented, brittle ice in her tone. "Why?"

Ronnie, glancing around, came closer to Cassie's cage. "I'll speak to them. I'll make them let you go."

"They won't _let me go_," Cassie replied, astonished at the frankness, the naivety, of Ronnie's words. "Why would they let me go, now that they've finally caught me? I'm too valuable to let go, and too dangerous."

"They're not our enemies, Cass, they're –"

"They're _my_ enemies. You know that! And you – you –" Cassie drew a quivering breath. "You worked with them. You just let them... let them catch me." Her eyes brimmed with tears: she felt betrayed, and confused, and heartbroken. "You could have _warned_ me."

"Cass, it wasn't like that – I – I didn't know –"

"What do you mean, you _didn't know_? Don't lie to me, Ronnie Chambers! Don't you _dare_! I should –" But Cassie could not find it in her to threaten him. This was who she had grown to love when the war was over, when Jake had retreated into himself. This was who she had slept and woken beside for over a year. This... this was Ronnie, who she shared her work with, her fears and dreams, her days and nights. And all along...

It was impossible. "We've been on hikes lasting longer than three days," she said softly.

"My Yeerk wasn't with me then," Ronnie told her. He, too, was tear-eyed. "Cassie, I swear, I had no idea they would –"

"You must have heard of their plan to leave Earth. How could you miss it?"

"Yes, but I never thought they'd..."

"What?"

"I never thought they'd harm _you_... I swear, I wouldn't have stayed with them if I did. I thought –"

"You joined the Yeerks." She spoke it as a fact, trying to digest it.

"But – but they swore, they swore when I joined them, that they were peaceful. And I missed... Imrath, my Yeerk, from the war. You know I was infested during the war, don't you?"

"You said so. You said you weren't voluntary."

Ronnie looked despairing. "What was I to tell _an Animorph_, Cass? That I _liked_ the Yeerks? I didn't tell you everything – but it was partly true. I _wasn't_ voluntary. To begin with. Imrath made me voluntary. He was... he was of the Peace Movement. He – he's dead. And when an old controller friend of mine told me of these refugee Yeerks... they claimed they'd harm no-one. They just wanted to _exist_, to survive. Many of them were former Peace Movement agents. They swore to me they'd do nothing to harm anyone."

Cassie stared at him. "And you believed them?"

"I – yes, I did."

Rage, hate, and love warred within Cassie, and she could not decide if she hated him for being a fool, or if she loved him and hated herself for that. She had never felt so hurt in her life.

Ronnie's palms were pressed against the force field – she put her own on the force field's other side, leaning her forehead in between them. Ronnie brought his own face closer, murmuring something about being sorry, and he didn't mean to, and it wasn't supposed to be like this, and... and Cassie forced herself to stop listening to him. She searched for a core of rage inside her, a core she had seldom turned to, and immersed herself in it – before sorrow could overwhelm her. She took a deep breath, and looked at Ronnie. She had found him handsome, before. The worst part was that she still did. But that did not matter any more. Nothing mattered. The rage was not strong, but it was strong enough. "You had a Yeerk in your head – you didn't tell me. You didn't do anything to stop the murders and abductions of the Hork-Bajir. You didn't warn me when they planned to kidnap me. I don't care if you said you didn't know – in that case, you were _blind_. It all makes you the enemy, Ronnie. I... never... want to see... you... again. Do you hear me?"

Ronnie drew back from her suddenly vicious expression. "Cassie..."

"LEAVE ME!" roared Cassie at the top of her lungs, and Ronnie staggered back. "Go back to your Yeerk, you... you..." Cassie shook herself, not finding any word fit to describe what she felt, and simply turned her back to her former lover. "Just..." She shuddered.

Ronnie was a simple character: manly and confident, charming, but uncomplicated and kind to a fault. That was why she had loved him. His kindness towards her, towards everyone, clearly extended too far... to Yeerks. Cassie knew there were Yeerks who deserved kindness. Perhaps this Imrath had been one of them. But for Cassie's part, she found no reason to meet any of the Yeerks in the compound around her with kindness.

Perhaps Ronnie was telling the truth: perhaps he had known nothing of her impending capture, and the Yeerks' plan to escape. In either case, witting or unwitting, he had served as a spy on her, a source of information, and if he had seen it as innocent, or not seen it at all, he was still a naïve fool.

He had still betrayed her beyond her wildest imaginations.

She sank down in a far corner of her cage to weep.

"Animorph."

Cassie jerked her head up. Ythram and his host were standing outside the force field. There was a fresh tray of food just inside it.

"I see you've met your boyfriend. Although I guess he's not your boyfriend any more."

Cassie did not reply.

"If it makes any difference, he was telling the truth. We simply... neglected to inform him about this."

"He knew about the Hork-Bajir. That's bad enough. How..."

"How could he allow it?" Ythram laughed softly. "Well, it wasn't easy, but Turju, his Yeerk, is brilliant at explanations. Reasons. Basically, the Hork-Bajir are here for our protection. A small evil to avoid a greater one. And we've left plenty of them in the valley. Plus, we only let him find out about it recently... when it was too late. Even if he walks free now and again, what was he to do? Betray us, reveal himself as a Controller, and claim he had no part in it? Not likely. Leave us? Not likely, either. That'd be a security risk... he knows the rules. Once in, you're in for life. All our human hosts agreed to it when they joined us."

"You only have voluntary hosts?"

"Yes. Involuntary hosts are so troublesome, and we don't have... the resources to handle them. Or the patience."

"What about the Hork-Bajir?"

"The Hork-Bajir are necessary," Ythram explained. "They're our warriors... a bit of trouble in handling them is worth it. But all our humans are voluntary."

"A former voluntary Controller attempted to murder me not long ago," Cassie said. "Was that you?"

Ythram shook his host's head. "Not us, no. He was one of us, yes, but he was not acting _for_ us. We had no interest in killing you."

"Then why did he?"

"He wanted us to stay on Earth. He knew about our plans, our plans to leave, and decided to try to stop us. He was operating along the lines of 'we can't kidnap you if you're dead'."

"And?"

"And that was about the height of his brain capacity. He wasn't much of a loss." Ythram's expression turned to something which, on a kinder face, would have been a smile. "And I must say, for your part, neither is Mr Chambers."

* * *

Jeanne returned to the bridge alone, almost at the end of Marco's shift. She looked tired. "I've left him in his quarters," she said. "To sleep. I doubt he'll sleep well. But he ate properly, at least." 

Marco watched her walk up to a console, and watched her draw up life support values from the ship on a holographic screen, to study them. He watched how her eyes glazed over, and how she was staring straight through the hologram. She was standing all too still, and her hands were clenched where they lay on the console.

Finally, she sighed, and said: "We're low on fresh water. Apparently the Yeerks did not fill it up properly when they repaired the ship."

"Jeanne."

"Yes?" it was almost a whisper.

"You don't look like you care about the water. At all." Marco was sitting cross-legged on another console, having been playing Doom on a lavishly large hologram screen. There was no reply from Jeanne, so he went on: "You said you'd been infested. Tell me about it."

"There's little to tell."

"You're lying."

"I don't –"

"...want to talk about it," Marco finished for her. "Jeanne, I've been thinking. I'm beginning to lose track of how long we've been travelling together. And I wonder... what do I know of you from before you ended up here?"

"I was with the French –"

"A trainee in some French secret service, I know. But aside from that? That's a _job_, Jeanne, not a person."

Jeanne drew a deep breath and turned towards him, her face unreadable. "I like to keep people at a certain distance."

"Clearly. Which is why you're so fond of Tom, I presume. No, really, Jeanne. You've been infested. Is there something about that we should know about? Some gruesome past that could come back to haunt you – haunt _us all_ – at the wrong time?" He grimaced. "Ouch, that was blunt. Even for me."

Jeanne's expression grew stony with anger. "I've come to terms with my infestation, thank you very much. I prefer not to dwell on it. It's not a pretty tale."

"Come on. Humour me."

Jeanne opened her mouth to speak, but then bit back her own words. She spun back towards the holographic screen, making a show of studying it, but she must have known herself how badly she was succeeding, for she lowered her gaze from it with a heavy sigh, and slowly looked back towards Marco.

"If there's anything in your past," Marco said, not sure exactly where his voice landed between detached and sympathetic, "anything at all, that might affect you, then we need to know about it. If you don't want to tell _me_, then tell Jake."

Jeanne closed her eyes, but then opened them and met Marco's gaze, nodding, as if to herself. "Fine. My mother died in sudden cancer when I was nine. My little sister, Lana, was one and a half. My father was devastated. We moved from a small town in southern France, to Paris. I grew up, acting as much mother to Lana as daughter to my father. I graduated. I was accepted into the Deuxième Bureau, as a trainee. My father worked for them, and he was so proud of me. Half a year later, my entire class was infested. Two years after that..."

She paused, and Marco could think of nothing to say which would not sound bad: he simply waited.

"Have you ever stopped by the supermarket on the way home?" Jeanne wondered. "Ever stopped by the supermarket after a normal day, without knowing why, and bought a pair of rubber gloves? The same kind that you might find in your cleaning closet. You open the packaging and throw it into a nearby trash can outside the store. You arrive home, and you pull on your new gloves. You greet your father in the kitchen. He turns his back, for a moment, and you grab the frying pan from the stove, and beat him over the back of his head. He collapses, so quietly, so... easily. You return the frying pan to the stove and bend down to make sure he's dead. And then you walk down the corridor. You're whistling to yourself, a favourite tune. You reach your sister's room. And..."

Jeanne's voice was calm and rational, but Marco felt the ice prickling his neck. She had clearly gone through this before, in her mind, again and again, and she spoke as if she was reading from a book. It was unnerving.

"My Yeerk did it just to spite me. His assignment had been to kill my father. He killed my sister just because he knew I loved her. She was twelve. She was... so small. She was dozing, a book lying open on the pillow beside her. She woke with my hands around her throat..." Jeanne lifted her hands. "These hands. Around her throat." She blinked, for the first time since she had begun speaking, still appearing very calm. "Have you ever done that?"

"No," rasped Marco. "I haven't."

"If you had, you wouldn't want to talk about it. You wouldn't want to remember it. And you wouldn't want people too close. My Yeerk said that there was nothing I could love, that he couldn't take away. He was right. So I ended up loving nothing at all. It's a difficult habit to break. Oh, and Marco?"

"Yes?"

"If you're thinking about offering me a shoulder to cry on, then forget it. I've cried enough. And I don't need your pity." Turning away from him, she added over her shoulder: "Go wake Jake. Your shift is over."

Marco rose, and headed toward the sleeping quarters. "I'm sorry I made you tell me that," he offered, not looking at her.

Jeanne's voice, up until then so calm and composed, broke at that moment. "Just... go."

* * *

Author's Note: 

Recieved a wonderful review not long ago that inspired me to write, write, write. It also inspired me to think more about Jeanne's character, since the review told me it hadn't been properly developed, and I sat down to consider and realised it was true. So here's Jeanne, everyone. Poor soul. I must have been feeling angsty when I thought it up. In any case, yes, she is very much a copy of Rachel. Rachel was a sort of idol to Jeanne, especially since she began working for Jake. Find a role in a group as famous as the Animorphs..? A nervy situation, to say the least. Why not adopt one left open? She's probably not aware of it herself... although the role has, by my pen,suited Jeanne rather well.

Two questions on canon-ness, then. _I_ can't remember any time Marco was infested. I'm unfortunately too lazy to re-read all the books and find out. If anyone can think of a time he was infested, then tell me. Second question: what eye-colour does Jake have?


End file.
